Book 



PRESENTED BY 



A MEMORIAL 

TO 

ELDRESS ANNA WHITE, 

AND 

ELDER DANIEL OFFORD. 

By LEILA S. TAYLOR. 



MOUNT LEBANON, N. Y.I 
NORTH FAMILY OF SHAKERS. 

1912. 



Copyright, 1912, 

BY 

North Family of Shakers. 



Gift 
Publishes* 

AUG IM! 



V 



ELDRESS ANNA WHITE, 



I 



MEMORIAL OF 
ELDRESS ANNA WHITE. 

A CENTER of high thought and pure living, exist- 
ing in America since 1774, is found in an or- 
ganized community, whose basic principle is the 
life of purity and self-sacrifice, embodying and 
reflecting the Christ-life and the Christ Spirit. A member 
of this communistic order during sixty- two of her almost 
eighty years, amenable to its discipline, exemplifying its 
principles and embodying its spirit, ELDRESS ANNA 
WHITE, of Mount Lebanon, is a worthy exponent of 
that manifestation of Divine Motherhood known as 
Shakerism. 

The White family brought from Old to New England 
many of its best elements, Elder John White, a parish- 
ioner of the Rev. Thomas Hooker, from Chelmsford, 
Essex County, landing with his family at Boston, Septem- 
ber 16th, 1632. He settled on or near the site of Gore 
Hall, Harvard University, served as one of the seven 
first selectmen of Cambridge and four years later was 
with the one hundred, who journeyed afoot through the 
wilderness to the Connecticut River and founded the city 
of Hartford. At Hartford, Hadley, Northampton and 
Boston, Elder John White's judicial and religious ability 
and leadership were wrought into the structure and life 
of Massachusetts and Connecticut. 



2 



Eldress Anna White. 



His sterling qualities were transmitted to his des- 
cendants, of whom four generations resided at Middle- 
town, Connecticut. Calvin, youngest son of Deacon 
Moses White, born at Middletown in 1762, a graduate 
of Yale University, married Phebe Camp, daughter of 
Rachel and Capt. .Nathaniel Camp, of Newark, New Jer- 
sey. A Presbyterian and then an Episcopalian clergy- 
man, he finally embraced the Roman Catholic faith and, 
after the death of his wife, studied for but did not enter 
its priesthood. The book "John White and his Des- 
cendants," Hartford, i860, says of him: "A devoted and 
accomplished scholar, he was one of the few who loved 
and thoroughly mastered the Hebrew tongue. In politics, 
he was a tory: and he never failed to refer to the war 
of the Revolution as 'the Rebellion/ He never voted 
in his life." He died at the age of ninety, in Derby, 
Connecticut, w-here he had formerly ministered for many 
years in the Protestant Episcopal Church. 

Of the seven sons of Calvin and Phebe White, all 
successful business men, Chandler was the most widely 
known as a promoter of the Atlantic Cable, associated 
with Cyrus Field, President and Director of the com- 
pany exploiting that enterprise; and a prominent member 
of the New York Chamber of Commerce. 

Robert, the eldest, was born at Hanover, New Jersey, 
December 1st, 1792. Inheriting his father's independence 
in religious thought, he became known in early manhood 
as a "most estimable young Quaker. ,, On the 9th of 
April, 1818, in Friends Meeting, at Liberty Street, New 
York, he was married to Hannah Gibbs, of a prominent 
Quaker family. Daughter of Abel and Elizabeth Gibbs, 
her Quaker antecedents date back to the time of William 
Penn. Born July 1st, 1795, Hannah Gibbs was brought 
up by an uncle, John Corlies, also a Quaker. 



On the Seashore, 



3 



II 

THE fifth child and youngest daughter of Robert 
land Hannah White was Anna, born January 21st, 
183 1. Their residence, a pretty, white cottage, 
stood in a large green field at the corner of 
Orange and Willow streets, Brooklyn. Anna nearly lost 
ihier birthright at the very beginning of her career, her 
father first discovering faint signs of life in the discarded 
infant and coming to her rescue. A feeble, wailing crea- 
ture, she made more trouble than all the other children. 
Her mother took her to the seashore in New Jersey, 
where she made acquaintance with old Ocean and, in 
the arms of the big man who had her in charge, would 
laugh and crow with delight as the friendly waves dashed 
over her. The Atlantic became her nurse, entered into 
her very being and saved the little one for a long and 
active life. When Anna was two years old, Robert White 
retired from business and purchased a farm on the New 
Jersey coast. 

In the country home at Shrewsbury, Anna and her 
brother John, four years younger, spent a happy child- 
hood. John, a handsome, lovable lad, was quite unlike 
his strong-willed, restless sister, but the two children 
were devoted to each other. A frequent playmate was 
Eric Parmley; another, a spruce little chap, was cousin 
Dick, son of Richard Mansfield White. Better known 
as Richard Grant White, cousin Dick was often at the 
New Jersey farm. A donkey, Jack, neighbor Eric's pony, 
dogs, cats, calves, chickens, figure in the sports of this 
period, but Ocean was the great playfellow. Whenever 
a party of guests visited the beach, intent on bathing, they 
were astonished to see the two children, who loved to 
dart ahead, already bobbing up and down, far out in 
the surf. They attended school some distance from home, 
boarding through the week with a Quaker family where 
they received motherly care. "Every Friday night, Father 



4 



Eldress Anna White. 



would come for us and Mother would liave an extra 
good supper, generally of chicken, for us hungry chil- 
dren." No animals were killed on the farm, creatures 
destined for food being carried away. One day, walk- 
ing with her mother in the city, Anna saw a wagon- 
load of young calves and began an inquiry as to their 
destination. Informed that they were to be converted 
into veal, a favorite viand, her grief was extreme and 
she expressed a determination, to which she adhered, 
never toi taste veal again. 

In the home was a dear old grandmother, Elizabeth 
Gibbs. It was a great delight to the mischievous children 
to get grandma to spell her name, — "E-l-i-izzard-a-b-e-t-h." 
Many happy hours were spent by her side and, at any 
childish mishap, "Now, child, what did thee do that for?" 
was her first query. In the Shaker home, when Anna 
White was approaching the years of this aged grand- 
mother, if some impulsive spirit had fallen into difficulty, 
bow often would she say, with a twinkle in the keen, 
blue eyes, "Now, child, what did thee do that for?" 

The oldest living son, for the first child, Abel, had 
died in infancy, was Robert Cornell, commonly called by 
his middle name. Eight years her senior, generous and 
sympathetic, Brother Cornell was Anna's protector and, 
like her, was devoted to their mother. Born during their 
parents' temporary residence in Birmingham, England, 
he came midway between two sisters. An ideal elder 
sister to the group of high-spirited, affectionate children, 
Phebe was a second mother to Anna, helping the little 
girl over many a hard place. Rachel, good, sensible and 
kind, was very fond of her little sister, who warmly re- 
turned her affection. A frequent member of the family 
was Aunt Sarah, Robert's only sister, a sweet and noble 
woman, gratefully remembered. 

As with most children, in homes where the Bible is 
revered and loved, underneath fun and frolic rose the 
tide of religious thought and feeling. Trained to obey 



Inspiration From Lucrbtu Matt. § 



their parents, it is easy for children to obey God Loving 
the law of kindness and self-sacrifice, manifested through 
the life of God-fearing parents, it is natural to recognize 
the love of the All Father. The blessing at table, the 
hour of family worship, were remembered with gratitude. 
The White Children attended Quaker meeting, sitting 
through the long, quiet service with what patience they 
might. The restless Anna was often comforted by the 
broad lap of her mother, which soothed her to slumber 
when the tired head grew too heavy. But very early, 
Anna took an active interest in proceedings, not always 
of the silent order. Lucretia Mott was sometimes pres- 
ent and, if moved to speak, the child listened fascinated. 
One First Day, Anna heard Lucretia Mott abruptly 
silenced by the guardians of Quaker orthodoxy. On the 
way home, she asked, — "Mother, why did they stop Lu- 
cretia Mott from speaking?" "Well, child, what she 
said was not in accordance with the ideas of the leaders 
in meeting." 

"But why, Mother, I love to hear her the best of all?" 
"Well, child, thee will understand when thee is older." 

It is doubtful if Anna White ever understood why a 
woman should be silenced in meeting, or why any honest 
truth-seeker should be forbidden to utter the thought 
that is in him. How much that scene may have influenced 
the after-life of the little girl cannot be known, but she 
ever had a deep reverence for Lucretia Mott and an en- 
thusiasm for freedom of thought and speech. 

A Methodist society worshipped in a small, plain 
8 meeting-house near by, and Sabbath evenings, Anna and 
John were fond of attending Methodist prayer meetings. 
The Millerite excitement of the early 4o's ran high at 
Shrewsbury, many of the neighbors abandoning their 
property, that they might be prepared to meet their Lord. 
Robert White, in his calm, benevolent fashion, quietly 
bought up or gathered in cattle, horses and other movable 
effects of these excited people, and, when the fateful night 



6 Eldbess Anna White. 

had passed and the bewildered religionists returned to 
their dismantled homes, to resume their wonted occupa- 
tions, their Quaker neighbor was at hand, restoring with- 
out charge animals and implements they had thrown 
away. In after years, Anna often related the story of 
that) night. She had listened to the arguments and ex- 
hortations of devoted Millerites in Methodist meetings, 
had heard the calm, sensible views of her Quaker parents 
and friends, but a child's superstitious fear was inten- 
sified by a deep, black cloud which overspread the 
heavens,-— a portent full of dread. Her father was away, 
she sat with her mother on the veranda. i{ 0 Mother, does 
thee think the Millerites may be right, after all, and the 
end of the world is coming ?" 

"Nay, child," replied her mother, "it is only a thunder- 
storm. The end of the world is not at hand, thee need 
not fear." The tempest that followed was always referred 
to as the worst she ever experienced. 

Among the neighbors was a Baker family, distantly 
related. In 1844, Phebe White married George C. Baker, 
and three years later Rachel married the brother, Joseph. 
while the same day, Cornell was married to their sister, 
Hannah D. Baker. From the marriage of Phebe came 
one of the strongest ties that bound Anna to her home. 
A little girl, named Hanna, was added to the circle, whom 
Anna loved and petted with adoring devotion. 

A great trial of her girlhood was that she never 
had a new dress. Quaker thrift and the excellent ma- 
terials of the time produced gowns of such quality that, 
when Phebe and Rachel were through with them, enough 
always remained to make a pretty frock for their little 
sister. One day in her sixteenth year, her mother said, 
"Anna, if thee will help me take care of the hens and 
chickens this summer, I will give thee half the profits and 
thee can have a new dress." Anna took hold of the 
poultry business and early and late looked after her big 
family of chickens with such faithful care that the biddies 



Off to Boarding-School. 



1 



were unusually prosperous, and, in good time, she had 
the pleasure of buying a handsome silk dress, a piece of 
which is still cherished in her Shaker home. 

The district school had done its best for the White 
children and Anna was sent with Rachel to a Friends 
Boarding School at Poughkeepsie, known! as the Mansion 
Square Seminary and presided over by Mr. William Gib- 
bons. It was her first separation from home. A deathly 
homesickness took possession of her, she could not study, 
she could not eat nor sleep. All attempts at diversion^ 
reasoning or sympathy failed. Rachel was at her wits' 
end, the child was crying herself sick. At last, she wrote 
home and Robert started for Poughkeepsie and appeared 
at Mansion Square. Summoned to meet her father, Anna 
felt sure of his sympathy and expected to be restored to 
her lost home. But, nay! "Daughter Anna" was treated 
to a course of paternal logic, was assured that she was 
expected to appreciate the advantages offered her and 
improve her opportunity for education to the best of her 
ability. The crying stopped and the homesick child be- 
came the eager student, her quick, inquiring mind awaken- 
ing to the delights of study. (Natural science, grammar, 
literature and history were her delight. Her textbook in 
astronomy, a thin volume with steel engravings, published 
in Boston in 1838, is a commentary on her neat and care- 
ful habits. Devoid of stain oir wrinkle, covered with brown 
cambric carefully stitched on, it bears the inscription, 
"Anna White, 1846." In after-life, she loved to talk of this 
science and its wonderful revealings, — eager to learn of 
each new discovery, each wider outlook. 

From school routine, custom set her free much earlier 
than would happen to-day. At an age when the modern 
girl is entering upon her preparation for college or uni- 
versity, Anna returned to her home in New York City 
and, in accordance with Quaker custom, was given her 
choice of a trade. A highly respectable employment for 
women was tailoring, and in her eighteenth year, under 



3 



Eldses* Awhta Wstte. 



the guidance of a skilled tailoress, Anna learned that 
trade. She enjoyed many social advantages. Their 
home was frequented by thinkers and philanthropists, its 
doors open to preachers and elders of the Quaker faith. 
Her quick sympathies were enlisted in relief of the dis- 
tress found in the city and she was trained in systematic 
benevolence by her mother, the almoner appointed by 
the Quaker society to distribute relief to the poor of 
the church. Not only were the suffering of her own 
faith cared for by the benevolent Quakeress, but many 
abodes of poverty were relieved from her own stores. 
Anna accompanied her mother on these errands of mercy 
and thus became familiar with the sadder side of city 
lif*. 



Ill 

SHAKERJSM early became a factor in the family 
life. After the break in the Quaker church in 
1827, Robert, a Hicksite Quaker, followed his 
natural bent toward independent thinking. Among 
the people with whom he dealt in his business of hard- 
ware merchant, he met certain grave, serious men, wear- 
ing a distinctive dress and noted for their honesty. 
Robert and Hannah often visited the Shakers, attracted 
by their neatness, simplicity and integrity. When Anna 
was six months old, her parents stopped at Hancock, on 
their way by carriage to Quaker Quarterly Meeting at 
Hudson, New York. An aged Shakeress, known as 
Mother Lucy Miller, coming into the room, took the 
baby in her arms, exclaiming in a prophetic manner, 
"This child is an Israelite indeed !" 

Robert became interested in the Shaker faith, whose 
peculiar tenets, expounded by clear-thinking leaders, ap- 
t*altd to him as sensible spiritual interpretations of rsrt* 



Robert White a Context. 



9 



lation. Finding therein the logical sequence to the Quaker 
faith accepted in earlier manhood, he became a Shaker, 
uniting with the society at Hancock, Massachusetts, and 
adopting the celibate life, the foundation stone of Shaker- 
ism. To Hannah White, this action of her husband was 
the subversion of every principle of right, — the betrayal 
of religious faith. While she honored his intellectual 
ability and trusted his integrity and purity of purpose, 
she felt that he had been misled and deceived. In ac- 
cordance with Shaker usage, when his wife could not 
follow him, Robert did not separate from her further 
than to adhere to the essential principles of his faith. 
Hannah was, henceforth, his sister in Christ. This re- 
lation was almost as abhorrent to her as if he had 
divorced her altogether. The grief and opposition aroused 
was not allowed to cause an open rupture. Robert went 
to his Shaker home, often visited by Hannah or the 
children, then, returning, would spend an equal time with 
his family. He could not countenance marriage and the 
children were married away from home, while restraint 
in expressions of natural affection showed the effects of 
Sftiaker discipline. 

He was generous with his Shaker relations, and, while 
careful to obey every requirement of the communistic 
home, added many a touch of comfort to its appointments 
and enlargement to its industrial outlook. He imported 
the locust, valuable for posts and timber, planting groves 
and lining highways with this beautiful tree. He did 
much to aid in publishing and distributing Shaker litera- 
ture. At one time, he brought to Hancock three little 
girls whom he knew, orphan children, who, growing up 
in the faith, became heads of the three families, beloved 
and honored by all who know them, 

Anna and John often visited at Hancock, playing in 
the old barns and sunny fields as happily as on their 
New Jersey farm. Anna gathered to the kind Shaker 
sisters, learned to love their sweet songs and to enjoy 



io Eldress Anna White. 

the spiritual meetings, whose zeal and devotion awakened 
to new life her religious feelings. ReminiscenceiS of aged 
Believers were listened to and, little by little, in the heart 
of the Quaker girl, arose a love for the Shaker sister- 
hood, a thoughtful weighing of two religious systems, 
hardly to be looked for in so young a girl, save by 
those who, underneath the winsomeness of Anna White, 
could read her capacity for self-denial and devotion to 
truth. 

As Anna neared her eighteenth birthday, Robert real- 
ized that the opposition among his older children had 
begun to affect Anna's feelings. He addressed to her, 
in a long and touching letter, a statement of his faith, 
his generous plans of provision for his family and his 
desire that she might impartially observe the workings 
of his faith in the home of his adoption, opening his 
father's heart in a way that could but appeal to her sense 
of justice and strong filial affection. Its pages are too 
sacred for publication, but it contains these words, the 
key to a very marked characteristic of Anna White's 
after-life: "I covet for thee, my daughter, a glorious 
freedom from the shackles of other people's opinions, an 
independence of all save the approbation of thy own con- 
science; breaking the bands of pride and prejudice and 
acting as if responsible to thy Maker, conscious of His 
presence/' 

As opposition grew to actual persecution, Anna's deep, 
soulful eyes became wells of sympathy and determination 
in which Robert White read the truth that his youngest 
daughter alone of all his family stood with him. As her 
leaning toward her father's faith became known, every 
effort was exerted to win her back. Her great love for 
her mother, for Phebe and Rachel, for Cornell and John, 
for the little Hanna, now a sweet, precocious child of 
four years, were as so many bands of steel binding the 
affectionate girl to her home. A bachelor uncle on the 
mother's side, possessed of large wealth, had already 



Anna Comes to Lebanon. 



ii 



designated his favorite niece as his intended heir. Now, 
he proposed, if she would give up her Shaker schemes, 
to settle a large sum upon her at once, making her in- 
dependent, the whole property to become hers upon his 
death. This offer, in her young enthusiasm, she cast 
beneath her feet. 

The sterner side of Anna White's nature, hitherto 
unknown even to herself, her persistent obedience to 
conscience, the old Puritan and Quaker in her, enabled 
Iher to stand firm, to resist the entreaty, over-ride the 
opposition and govern her own deep feeling. Visits 
already paid to Hancock and New Lebanon were fol- 
lowed by another in her nineteenth year, when her father 
took her to four societies, that she might judge for her- 
self. In 1848 and 1849, the battle seems to have raged 
within and without Anna's soul, growing more intense 
as the crisis drew near, when her decision should forever 
seal her destiny. 

In the summer of 1849, Anna came to Mount Lebanon 
as a guest in the North Family, where Robert was a 
member. To the older sisters, she gathered at once in 
trustful simplicity, and to a young sister, about her own 
age, the gentle, affectionate Eliza Rayson, she became 
warmly attached. A large family, by the name of 
Greaves, had just come, seven brothers and one little 
sister, delicate and sweet, the idol of them all. Upon 
Anna White's arrival, Ann Maria Greaves was sent to 
entertain the visitor. The Elder Sister, coming to look 
after her charges, inquired what they had been talking 
about. To her amusement, they frankly avowed that they 
had been discussing the fashions in their respective homes. 
She afterward told them that, because of their honesty, 
she felt sure she could make Shakers of them both. The 
friendship thus begun lasted for sixty- two years, unbroken 
by separation or misunderstanding; the "twin sisters," 
as they called themselves, devoted to each other, until that 
December morning, when Anna, on a bridge of early sun- 



12 



Eldress Anna White. 



beams, slipped away to the other country. This sum- 
mer of 1849, the solemnity of the step before them did 
not weigh too heavily on their spirits for them to enjoy 
the mirth that filled their girl natures and innocent hearts. 
The beautiful mountain home and the attractive scenes 
occupied many hours, the three friends often forgetting 
the dignity of their years to romp together as if chil- 
dren still. Before this visit ended, Anna's choice was 
made. Her decision is thus expressed in a letter to her 
father. 

"New Lebanon, 8 mo. 19th, 1849. 
"To My Kind and Affectionate Father: 

"According to thy desire I will now endeavor as far 
as my pen is able to give thee an accurate account of 
my feelings during the few days past in which my soul 
has been bowed down even to the very dust and 'my 
spirits dipped as in the waters of affliction. I can now 
feel that thy prayers on my behalf have not been put up 
for naught, but that they have been answered, and in the 
sincerity of my heart I can say that I thank my God for 
giving me such a wise and good parent, who will lend a 
helping hand and encourage me to press forward towards 
the mark of my high calling, so that I may live day by 
day as I would wish to die, and the time has now come 
for me to renounce the world, to give up all the enjoy- 
ments that are in it and live a holy and pure life ac- 
ceptable to God and to His holy Angels. And O, how 
fervently have I prayed to Him to give me power to 
overcome all evil propensities, so that I might devote all 
my might and strength in serving Him, now while young 
in life, for I feel as though this was the most acceptable 
time of offering, and by forsaking the world, what 
troubles, what afflictions shall I escape! 

"And He has at last condescended to hearken to my 
supplications, and by asking of Him counsel and advice 
to point out and show me which was the right way where- 



\ 



Taught In a Dream. 



23 



in I should walk, He has granted my request in the simili- 
tude of a dream. It was this day week between the hours 
of one and two o'clock in the morning, I was aroused 
from a sound sleep (by a rumbling sound, as of distant 
thunder, the earth seemed to shake and tremble at its 
approach, all had fled terrified and horror-stricken at the 
awful appearance. It threatened to sweep all before it, 
yet still I stood alone and unprotected, trembling, yet 
dared not stir : but not long did this last, it gradually died 
away, and in the distance could be heard singing such 
as never was heard by mortal ear. O how sweet, how 
melodious it was, as though the whole company of angels 
had mingled together in one united band and were offer- 
ing up their sweetest songs in praise and thanksgiving 
to their holy patron! How inviting was the song, and 
they appeared to be beckoning for me to come and join 
with them. Still all was invisible, save a light that broke 
forth instantaneously as the singing ceased. It was not 
the dazzling brightness of the sun, but a soft and gen- 
tle light diffusing itself around and afootit the place Where 
I was, and seemed to encircle me on every side. Words 
cannot express the happy feeling that I experienced ; when 
I awoke, a deep peace settled on my mind and things 
wore a cheerful aspect, nothing dark and gloomy was 
left, all had fled, leaving me in peace and quietness. I 
distinctly saw the way which had been so clearly mani- 
fested unto me to be opened, and I am determined to 
walk in it, and nothing can hinder or turn me aside. 
The world is a blank to me, I can leave all without a 
regret I can never return to it! Nay, never! and 
although thou didst provide for me a good home and I 
was blest with kind relations and friends, yet nothing 
can induce me, for what are they compared to my gos- 
pel relations? For these I feel a pure, heavenly, divine 
love, such as I never experienced before, and I hope 
that feeling may ever exist in time and in eternity. I 
have had a fair opportunity of judging for myself the 



14 



Elqrbss Anna White. 



principles and manners of this 'singular people* and no 
one has ever influenced me in the least, it is my own 
free choice and I hope it is a wise one. I can bear all 
the reproaches that will be cast upon me for they will 
be but few, and would to God they were more! The 
burden will be thrown I know on thee more than any 
one else. And in conclusion I will say, 'Thy people shall 
be my people and thy God shall be my God.' In bonds 
of pure love! and affection, I remain as ever thy attacked 
daughter, Anna White." 

Robert promptly replied: 

"2nd day morning, 8th mo. 20, 1849. 
"Daughter Kind and Greatly Beloved: 

"I am glad to own the delight and comfort that thy 
communication of yesterday has ministered to my spirit. 
Thankfulness and joy abound yet not without sympathy 
in thy trials. But lift up thy :heart to God and thy head 
in hope. He that hath called thee will sustain thee in 
every proving dispensation. Remember that a sense of 
dependence leads to seek protection, and that even Jesus 
was so stripped as to cry out to God, 'Why hast thou 
forsaken me?' A feeling; of hunger and want is begot- 
ten that we may enjoy the fullness of the bread and waters 
of life. Trials and temptations are permitted that we 
may exercise our faith and increase therein. In looking 
forward be not anxious, but cultivate faith and confidence, 
that according to the requirements of each day, so will 
strength be administered. Seek not to avoid conflicts, but 
rather for strength to meet and overcome in them. It 
still feels to me that I should be willing for thee to 
look to returning with Hannah and Phebe, with the un- 
derstanding that thy feelings have become attached to 
thy father's people and the intention of examining further 
into the truths of their profession and a willingness to 
hear and consider every objection that can be brought. 



Cake of Spiritual Guides. 



That in the strength of Truth thee will be no coward, 
hut as a simple seeker and follower of it, thou w51t 
not be turned out of its paths. I would have thee re- 
member the words of Isaiah, 'He that believeth shall 
not make haste/ Not that thee should lag behind; but 
evidence a considerate, thoughtful, prayerful course, 
Gideon-like, turn the fleece again and again. I have con- 
fidence in thy discretion and leave thee with my love 
and blessing. Thy ever affectionate father, Robert 
White, Jr." 

Anna complied with her father's request, returning 
with her mother and sister. Hannah remarked to the 
Elder fSSsters, — "If Anna has made up her mind, thee 
might as well try to move East Mountain as to move 
her!" The next month brought a letter, breathing the 
love and care of spiritual guides, closing with the words, 
"And now, little one, we feel to commend you to the 
care and keeping of Him who is ever ready to hear the 
cries of the needy and keepetih a constant watch over 
the tender lambs of (His fold." A letter written after 
her return from a visit at Watervliet, reveals the work- 
ings of her mind. 

"New York, ioth mo. ioth, 1849. 

"To Arabella Clark : 

"Dear Friend — After I reached home last week thy 
letter was handed to me by Mother, and after reading 
it I feel best satisfied to comply with thy request to 
write to thee, for I desire to feel thankful for every 
expression of friendly interest in my welfare. I will 
now inform thee that the resolution which I have taken 
(hasty and inconsiderate as it may appear to thee and 
others) has by me been a subject of calm deliberation, 
and one which has occupied my mind for some length oi 
time, sufficiently so to satisfy myself as to the course 



x6 



Eldress Anna White. 



which I intend pursuing. I know it is an all-important 
step, but it is one that I have seriously reflected on; 
and it is from a sense of my responsibility to God as 
my Creator and my duty to myself and parents that 
I have made this choice, and come what may, I am de- 
termined not to act contrary to my conscientious views 
of right. Time is swiftly passing along and how neces- 
sary is it for every individual to yield strict obedience 
to the best light that is given them, and is it not right 
that every one should have a privilege, who have arrived 
at the years of understanding and are capable of judging 
for themselves, to make a free and independent use of 
their reason as regards matters of religion? Many may 
think that I have been deluded and led away by this 
singular people who are 'everywhere spoken against.' 
Well, so be it! Let the world say what it may, I am 
determined, unmindful of earthly friends or foes, to per- 
severe in the work, that I am called to labor in. All the 
essential testimonies of early friends I hold to, and will 
strive to emulate their noble example of patient suffering 
reproach and derision for the truth's sake. 

"During the summer I had an excellent opportunity of 
knowing and judging for myself whether these really were 
the people they profess to be, and I have found it to be 
true, 'By their fruits ye shall know them/ So that judg- 
ing them by their fruits, I am compelled to acknowledge 
that if God has a people on the face of the earth these 
are they, and I long to be gathered to them; but think 
not that I do it without much tribulation of spirit. As 
to my Mother, I never before knew that I loved her so 
much, and my brothers and sisters never seemed more 
near and dear to me, so thee is mistaken if thee thinks 
that my love for them has diminished, but it is the 
reverse. I am sensible of my obligations and duty to my 
Mother and am sure there is no abatement of my affec- 
tions for her. With respect to my Father, I would not 
have thee suppose that he has used any influence to 



Opposition From Relatives. 



17 



bring me to Ihis views, and my confidence in him is 
not impaired by thy remarks upon him. 

"If thee wishes to be informed of the principles of 
the Society, thee will find by candidly reading the books 
I send thee that the Scriptures of Truth are held by it 
to the fullest extent of thy recommendations, and after 
reading these books I will be glad to see thy objections 
as being contrary to the teachings of Christ and the 
Apostles. 

"Affectionately thy friend, 

"Anna White." 

To the copy of this letter is added in pencil, in her 
handwriting of later years, "Never received an answer." 

Of the final parting, it is doubtful if any recital was 
ever heard, save by her Elders in the Order of the gospel 
to which she was called. Cornell was bitter and unkind 
to his sister in her choice of a religious life, regarding 
her purpose fanatical, her choice a needless cruelty to 
their mother and her persistence a reprehensible ob- 
stinacy. Two only aside from her father had a good 
word to say for her. Her brother-in-law, the genial 
George Baker, gave his sympathy to the persecuted girl, 
urging his wife and the rest of the family to let her go 
in peace. The other was her grandfather, Rev. Calvin 
White, who gave her his blessing and approved her 
choice, bidding her Godspeed. 

Robert accompanied Anna to her Shaker home and, 
returning, had to meet the accumulated feelings of the 
family. He writes to Anna that he loves to think of 
her living in her attic room with her pleasant companions, 
Rhoda and Phebe. These were two sisters, older than 
herself, and the attic chamber with sloping sides and a 
high-studded end facing the north, occupied a space now 
lost in two large rooms. In one letter, he says: "I have 
taken thy plaid silk dress and put it in my valise. I 
looked for thy bonnet, but could not find it." A letter 



Eldress Anna White. 



from grandfather Calvin contains this sentiment: "I am 
glad Anna has composed her mind on a subject which 
has given Hannah some anxiety, and I do not know 
why Anna should not have a right to make a choice of 
life as well as her sisters." 

The date of her entry into the North Family, the 
Novitiate Order of the Shaker Church, is thus recorded 
by herself: 

"Anna White, Born ist mo'th, 21st, 1831. United 
with Believers Tenth mo'th, 16th, 1849." Long years 
after, she gave expression to the fact that she was a 
little disappointed at the time that she had not been 
assigned to Hancock, where her feelings were first 
gathered. 



IV 

AT the head of the North Family, stood Elder 
Richard Bushnell and Brother Frederick W. 
Evans, Eldress Sarah Smith and Sister Mary 
Antoinette Doolittle. The next year, Eldress 
iSarah was released from her position, returning to her 
former home in the Church Family, and Eldress An- 
toinette was appointed to the first place with Sister Har- 
riet Bullard as her associate. 

Anna found a close union to her Elders and entered 
eagerly into the family life, assisting in kitchen, bake- 
room, dining-room, laundry and ironing-room, washing 
dishes, weaving, spinning, sewing, even milking the cows, 
at that time the regular task for sisters, night and morn- 
ing. There were but few books, and those of Slhaker 
publication, the "Millennial Church" and the "Second Ap- 
pearing of Christ," being the most important; no papers, 
rarely, a newspaper article read aloud by the Elder 
Brother. Little time was there for reading. Knitting 
was at hand when the day's task of spinning, weaving 




AS A YOUNG GIRL. 



Happy in Her New Life. 



io 



or palmleaf work was completed. In place of her father's 
sumptuous home, Anna now shared with from two to 
six others a large, plain, white-washed room, pictureless, 
carpetless and without ornament, sleeping two and some- 
times three together. 

Tasks were brightened by pleasant conversation, help- 
ful tales of earlier days and by singing, — the sweet songs 
of Zion, unlike any other earthly music. Anna loved 
those songs, and, as she pared apples or potatoes in the 
kitchen, learned to sing them, until the gift of song des- 
cended upon herself. It was a time of inspirational gifts. 
Songs, received by scores and hundreds, were written 
down with the melody beneath in the original Shaker 
musical notation. Then, there were the meetings, full of 
strong testimony and alive with spiritual gifts. Besides 
Sabbath services, there were meetings for singing, read- 
ing, testimony or exercise, while a weekly union meet- 
ing cultivated the social element. It was not a day when 
members did what seemed right in their own eyes, or 
proclaimed their opinions to all within the sound of their 
voice. There was a Lead in Zion. The law of the Lord 
went forth and the standard of the Gospel was to be 
followed. The Order of Ministry and Elders were the 
anointed leaders. Obedience was the keynote of the 
Shaker life, the straight and narrow path to regenera- 
tion and redemption. 

That Anna was contented and happy in her new life 
is shown by her letters. To her father, she writes: "I 
feel a continual increase of love the longer I remain 
with this happy people, and I am thankful, yea, I am 
sensible that it is good for me to be here, and that I 
have been called to renounce the world and the pleasures 
therein while young in life. Words are inadequate to 
express my thankfulness for the blessed privilege that 
I now enjoy in worshipping God unitedly with those who 
serve Him, and I have been thinking whether it would 
not be better for me now that I have united myself to 



Eldress Anna White. 



Believers, to resign my membership with Friends, and 
thereby save them the unpleasant business of dismissing 
me, which they must necessarily do according to disci- 
pline. I do not wish to be a defaulter and I feel best 
satisfied to send in my resignation. I have written a 
document which I think will answer, and will thee be so 
kind as to give it to Sister Rachel so that she may hand 
it in to the monthly meeting, if she is willing to do so? 
It has been an act of my own and I have consulted with 
no one upon the subject. Please give my love to Mother, 
brothers and sisters and other inquiring friends. With 
much love I bid thee adieu. Affectionately thy daughter, 
Anna White." 

The accompanying letter of resignation was not an- 
swered for six years, the requested dismissal being sent 
in 1855. 

'To the Monthly Meeting of New York. 
"Dear Friends : 

"Having after due consideration united with another 
Religious Society than the one wherein I have a birth- 
right, I think it most proper to send you my resignation, 
as I wish to give you no unnecessary trouble on my ac- 
count. I take this opportunity* to express my thankful- 
ness for the privilege and protection that have been ex- 
tended to me while a member with you, and assure you 
that I retain the same regard for every important testi- 
mony that Friends profess that ever I did. 
"I remain in love your friend, 

"Anna White." 

To her mother, she writes, — "Be assured, my Mother, 
though hard and trying it may now seem to thee, the 
time will come, either here or in another state of exist- 
ence, that thee will rejoice and be thankful that I am 
united to those who die daily unto sin, and live a pure 
and holy life. I say this for thy comfort." These words 



Quaxxusu Shaken Out, 



were speedily fulfilled, for, within a year, her mother 
blessed her choice and said, "Thee gives me more com- 
fort than all my other children/' 

At the Head of the Ministry was the venerable Ruth 
Landon, successor of Mother Lucy Wright, whoi had seen 
and remembered Mother Ann Lee. One day she called 
upon the North Family Elders and Anna was summoned 
for introduction and inspection. Eldress Riuth, tall, com- 
manding, with piercing black eyes, looked the young con- 
vert through and through, as if reading her very soul, 
and uttered these encouraging words, "Well, Anna, if you 
are faithful, I can promise you all the tribulation you 
are able to endure. But you will always have strength 
given you to bear it!" Eldress Anna used to say, "I 
have proved her words true." Her father writes : "Prize 
thy privileges my dear daughter, to make thyself worthy 
of them by improvement. Every temporal and spiritual 
good is within thy reach if thou wilt but labor for them. 5 ' 
Anna found great difficulty in learning the Shaker dance. 
At last, a sister said, "Anna, don't you know how to 
skip?" "Skip, why, of course I do!" "Well, that is all 
there is to it." She had skipped through all her happy 
outdoor life, and now the quick-step was turned to the 
service of IGod in the exercise which Father Joseph 
Meacham had seen angel hosts practicing. Anna had 
not been with the family long, when she herself had a 
quick-song and according to custom came to her Eldress, 
singing and dancing the simple words. Eldress An- 
toinette heard her through and remarked with her 
motherly smile, "Well, Anna, I think the Quakerism is 
pretty well shaken out of you." 

It had been agreed that Anna should pay her mother 
an annual visit, and this she did, accompanied by an 
older sister, for several years. When she made her first 
visit, a farewell letter was given her, with verses ex- 
pressive of the sympathy and encouragement of her young 
companions, in what was felt to be a time of testing. 



Eldress Anna White. 



To this letter, which was signed "Emily S she 

replied : 

"New Lebanon, June nth, 1850, 

"Dear Sister: 

"I received your very kind letter the day before I 
left home, and I cannot express to you how good it 
seemed to me. I felt that I needed the strength of my 
young sisters and when I read your letter it gave me 
fresh courage, and I felt that I could fearlessly press 
through every obstacle that might appear in my path. 
Your love was indeed a strength and comfort to me as 
was also the love which you gathered from those who 
have travelled many years in the work of redemption. 
And while with my connections in the bustle and jar of 
the wicked world, I could feel the holy Rowings of pure 
gospel love in my soul, which nourished and supported 
it when temptations surrounded me on every hand. And 
I feel thankful for that power which was given me to re- 
sist the influences of those who would gladly have called 
me back to dwell with them in the haunts of the wicked. 
When I think of the sacrifice that I have made, it is but 
small, very small, compared to the reward I have already 
received; for here have I found in the gospel that which 
satisfies my soul, and which I know if I am faithful will 
prove an abiding treasure when the transient things of 
time are at an end. And I feel determined to unite with 
you and labor to prize my privilege more highly, to bear 
the cross more faithfully and to live day by day as though 
it were the last, and in doing this I know that I shall 
receive a blessing. And in conclusion I will send my 
thanks and best love for every gospel grace which you 
have bestowed upon me. I will treasure them up and 
labor for an increase, that I may be more worthy to re- 
ceive them." 

She cherished through the years a letter from Eldress 



Some Gooi> Advice. 



Antoinette, dated December ist, 1850. "You will doubt- 
less, my young sister/' she writes, "as you travel along in 
the gospel path, meet with many things that will try your 
faith; but it is a good thing for us all to remember, that 
a Faith untried is uncertain. The way of redemption is 
necessarily the way of the cross, and it is requisite that 
we all pass through the furnace of affliction and be tried, 
even as gold is tried, to prove us, whether we will honor 
and serve God in adversity as well as in prosperity, and 
give up all to follow him, even to our life. We may for- 
sake father, mother, brother and sister, riches, honor and 
fame, easier than our life. * * * * It is what we all would 
choose, to have our own ways, fix and execute our own 
plans, think our own thoughts, speak and act as we please, 
without dictation. But the gospel calls all its subjects to 
pursue an entirely different course; to receive the king- 
dom as little children, all to subject our wills and move 
in strict conformity to the Head, as members of one liv- 
ing body. And I would say to you, my young friend and 
sister, never flinch in the 'hour of trial; be firm, be con- 
stant in your duty, ever listen to the kind and gentle 
monitions of conscience, to the still, small voice which 
says, 'This is the way, walk ye in it!' and you will be 
guided safely through all dangers. * * * * You justly re- 
mark that the faith which you have received in the gos- 
pel is a gift of God to you. I hope you will ever regard, 
love and cherish it as such. I can unite with you in thank- 
fulness for the gift. Also for the good use you have thus 
far made of it. And I hope you will fearlessly declare it, 
at home or abroad, to friend or foe. May you be a cheer- 
ful and fruitful Zion traveller!" The work of Eldress 
Antoinette in developing the character and capabilities of 
Anna White was not the least of her many noble achieve- 
ments. 

Anna did not receive sympathetic treatment from every 
one, nor was she able to read consistency in every life 



m 



Bum*& Aim Wsm 



about her. When balked by some startling discrepancies 
between faith and practice, she went to her Elders, ask- 
ing, "What shall I think?" "Think?" ejaculated Eldress 
Antoinette, "Why put it down to poor human nature.— 
and do better yourself!" Jealousy was not unknown and 
one woman, in particular, who afterward left the order, 
made every effort to harass the young beginner. But 
Anna bore it calmly and was fond of testing herself, to 
see how much she could stand. 

Her father writes, — "The time will come when inno- 
cency and integrity, if but with one talent, will weigh 
down all the accumulations of this world's riches, the 
attainments of science, literature, art and popularity. In 
that hour, how happy will it be for those who have chosen 
the simple, childlike graces of humility and truth. May 
our portion be with these \" 

Shaker testimony was strong in regard to relationship 
mid the necessity of making a complete separation from 
the natural to find a union in the spiritual. Anna united 
with all such testimony and, her native energy now turned 
in full force upon the conquest of her lower nature, the 
overcoming of wilful, wayward tendencies, and the devel- 
opment of the spiritual being, she sometimes went beyond 
what the ideals of self-sacrifice inculcated by her Shaker 
teachers would demand. One day, she threw into the kit- 
chen fire two daguerreotypes of her father and mother. 
These sun-pictures, invented about ten years before, were 
rare and expensive. In her severity against her natural 
yearnings, she burned them and said, "The crackle of 
them in the flames was sweet to me!" Some one told the 
Elders and they called her and asked for an explanation. 
"Why, Anna," they said, "you need not have burned them. 
We would have kept them for you." "O, I did not wish 
to trouble you with them !" was her reply. The endurance 
of whatever sacrifice presented itself as useful or neces- 
iary was ever a silent one. 



Joy in Her Work. 



m 



One day, she was appointed with several others to clean 
the meeting-room. In a row across the wide room, each 
scrubbed a certain width of board, and thus in kneeling 
procession saw the white floor pass immaculate from their 
hands. Anna, tired of the uncomfortable posture, finally 
uttered a wearied sigh of complaint. An older sister at 
her side, said, sternly, "Anna, anything is better than the 
flesh !" Abashed, Anna accepted the reproof and deter- 
mined never again to utter complaint of hardships en- 
dured under the gospel gift of freedom from the bond- 
age of the world. She certainly kept her vow. Few of 
the hard and disagreeable tasks which fell to the sister- 
hood in that day of hand labor, which could in any way be 
compassed by her, but she accomplished, often going be- 
yond requirements in the thoroughness of her work. 
Though delicate, she had well-developed muscles and re- 
joiced in her strength of limb and hand. It was a pleas- 
ant jest, in years when muscular exertion was no longer 
expected of her, if some one found a weight heavy, to 
exclaim, "Why, I can carry that with one finger !" and 
seizing basket or bundle, off she would trot, with quick 
step and laughing glance. 

January 8th, 1854, is the date of an appreciative letter 
to her mother. She writes : "I have now lying beside 
me thy welcome letter and I feel to express in words of 
gratitude and thankfulness the friendly and interested 
feeling manifested in thy various communications to me. 
I can bring to remembrance the many trying positions 
that thee has been placed in, in bygone days, and when 
reflecting with what undaunted courage and perseverance 
thee has been able to brave the storms that threatened 
the destruction of thy little bark, (and to ride with Chris- 
tian fortitude over the swelling waves of affliction, I can 
see that the beneficent hand of an All-Wise Creator has 
been and still is extended to support the feeble knees 
and raise the drooping spirits. As thy older children 



Eldress Anna White. 



were separated from thee and made their choice in life, 
they went with a Mother's blessing, I was left. Good 
and evil were set before me, sand many were the temp- 
tations and allurements which beset me in that critical 
period of my life. I panted after pleasure, I sought for 
enjoyment, but found them not. Here, however, was laid 
open to my view substantial pleasures and pure enjoy- 
ments, at heavenly, spiritual relation not only to be en- 
joyed in time, but through the endless ages of eternity. 
And feeling desirous to be numbered with those who can 
say in truth, *Lo, we have forsaken all to follow thee/ and 
giving heed to the still, small voice that whispered in my 
ear, 'This is the way, walk thou in it/ I saw that it would 
give that peace and comfort to my soul that the world I 
knew could not give nor take away. Thy feelings ait that 
time were rather prejudiced against Believers, and with 
unceasing efforts strove to save (as thee then thought) 
thy erring child from impending danger. Though the 
struggle at first was severe and trying, yet from that time 
to the present I feel that I owe a debt of gratitude to 
thee for the noble manner thee has exhibited and an ex- 
ample of patience worth following. I am very thankful 
that thy health is improving though age is fast approach- 
ing, yet thee may still live many years. Both brethren 
and sisters very often inquire after thee, those who know 
of my writing desire to be remembered to thee. Give my 
kind love to Father and say to ihim I have received his 
letter. Thee wanted to know if we continued to like the 
sewing-machine. We do like it very much, I should hardly 
know what to do without it. Charlotte and Elizaette both 
send their particular love, to which I will add the love of 
thy affectionate daughter, Anna." 

During the last few years of Robert White's life, he re- 
mained more with his family, coming less frequently to 
Lebanon, partly on account of business necessities and the 
care of the estate. The softening influence of the years 



Loss of a Father. 



27 



and the presence of his prattling grandchildren wrought a 
change, thus described by his eldest daughter. "Father 
shows an increased paternal interest for all of us in every 
way, age calls it forth so kindly, that we in our hearts 
joy in the change that has been wrought in him, and 
would fain forget much of the past in the bright sun- 
shine of the present. Grandchildren climb his knee so 
fearlessly and he joins so in their merriment that I often 
question if it can indeed be true/' — forgetting, apparently, 
that a change had also been wrought in her own feelings 
and manner toward him. A little letter from eight-year- 
old Hanna says, — "I hope thee will come to see us this 
summer at Woodside." This was the name of the large 
estate near Deal, -New Jersey, the summer home of the 
White children and their families. Now the property of 
her brother John, the adopted sfon of their uncle John Cor- 
lies, whose name he bore, Woodside would have belonged 
to Anna, had she not been disinherited because of her 
adherence to her Shaker faith. 

In January, 1856, at Woodside, where the family was 
then residing, after a few days of slight indisposition, 
Robert White, while at breakfast, suddenly became uncon- 
scious and, after forty-eight hours of insensibility, passed 
quietly away, at the age of sixty- four. It was a severe 
winter, mails were delayed, telegraph interrupted, and 
John sent a letter to Anna by the hand of a trusty messen- 
ger. Her journal reads: 

"Sabbath, Jan. 13th. Cold, icy winds with drifting 
snows have been our constant attendants since last Christ- 
mas. To-day, the elements seem to be engaged in a se- 
vere contest, snow, hail, rain and wind all striving to ob- 
tain the victory. 

"Monday, 14th. A letter from Sister Rachel informing 
of Father's indisposition, it is thought to be only a slight 
cold. Elder Richard also received one from him saying 
that he was quite feeble. Snow continues. 



28 



Eldress Anna White. 



"Wed., 16th. The announcement of the sudden depart- 
ure of a loved parent to the spirit land reached mine ears 
this morning at an early hour, 3 o'clock. Preston La Fetra 
arrived with the news about 12, bringing a letter from 
Brother John urging me to come immediately. What 
feelings ensued cannot be described and can never be for- 
gotten. Eldress Antoinette was to accompany me, which 
was some releasement, knowing she would feel as no other 
could feel, and sympathize as a mother in the trying scenes 
before me. Left our home at half-past 5 o'clock with 
Preston. A long ride of fourteen or fifteen miles through 
snow drifts almost impassable, with a cold wind blowing 
from the north-west, we reached Chatham about 10. Ar- 
rived in New York at 4 P. M. and went to Brother Cor- 
nell's, but found the family had gone to New Jersey, only 
the servants and youngest child being at home. After an 
early supper retired to rest but not to sleep, for thought 
could not be controlled. 

"Thurs., 17th. Gladly did I hail the first gleam of morn- 
ing, if only for the change! Last night it was so long, 
hour after ihour passed away — all so dark before me — 
though oft when fervidly engaged in solemn prayer, a ray 
of light as if some bright-winged angel hovered near, 
whispering comfort to my aching heart throbbing Within 
me. And then a thought would cheer me that the prayers 
of righteous souls were being sent toward the throne of 
mercy and love for me, poor child of earth, imparting 
strength and blessing. And I was blest, for with a tender 
Mother by my side ever bestowing love and holy power, 
I had no cause to fear and could bid defiance to the grim 
powers of darkness, for all these will never be able to 
shake my holy faith or overthrow the rock on which my 
feet are firmly established. We reached Port Monmouth 
about 5 P. M. Eighteen miles were yet to be travelled 
before reaching Deal, and it was a continual jolt, jolt, jolt, 
the roads were miserable in the extreme. Found the family 



To the Last Resting- Place. 



all convened in the little sitting-room, twenty-three, includ- 
ing ourselves. It was 9 o'clock. We were cordially wel- 
comed and after a light supper retired. I now felt some 
releasement, knowing the feelings of the family, and I was 
soon wrapped in slumber and from slumber into a long, 
deep sleep. 

"Friday, 18th. Very cold morning, at 11 o'clock the fun- 
eral began. Sat in silence an hour and a quarter. Eldress 
Antoinette preferred remaining at home, which we did. 
Between forty and fifty sleighs followed the remains to the 
last resting-place. In trying scenes how doubly precious 
is the love of kindred souls! and I am more and more 
thankful for all that I have gained by this pure love, 
made more so through suffering; and how contemptible 
are earthly riches in comparison with the durable riches of 
the gospel gained by the cross of Christ and self-denial; 
all things else sink into insignificance — therefore, I will 
glory in naught else. 

"Jan. 21 st. At half -past 3 were on the move. Break- 
fasted with Joseph (Baker) who accompanied us up. 
Phebe, Rachel and John arose and saw us comfortably 
seated in the sleigh, took leave of Mother, who bore up 
under her feelings remarkably well. It was about 5 when 
we left Woodside, 1.20 found us in New York. This even- 
ing we feasted on love and union, and sweet it was, for 
we felt poor and needy. Quite unexpectedly, a number 
of brethren from various quarters, hearing we were in 
the city and our whereabouts, called to see us, which was 
refreshing to our spirits. To feel the ministration of love 
and strength, peace and gospel union, when weary in 
spirit and drooping in heart, was more to me than all the 
vain pleasures and enjoyments that this world could afford, 
and I know that I realized it as a blessing. Twenty-five 
years this very day since first I breathed the breath of 
life. 

"Jan. 23rd. Charles met us at the depot with a double 



30 



Eldress Anna White. 



team and extra cloaks, which were very acceptable. This 
was the worst part of our journey, roads unbroken and 
snow-drifts to excite our timidity, tipping the sleigh first 
one way and then the other. However, we were bound 
home and the thought inspired us. It was reached at last 
and with thankful hearts. I never was more wearied, and 
so completely used up: it seemed as if every prop for my 
support was taken away and I was left to myself, — all ap- 
peared like a wild dream and with a bewildered brain I 
retired to rest. Elizaette slept with me in the little garret, 
as I felt unlike seeing many of the good folks that night. 

"Jan. 24th. Rested and picked up my journey things. 
Took an inventory of Father's books, clothing, etc., to 
send to Mother soon. Still confused in mind. I cannot 
think that I am no more to see my Father — even now, I 
imagine that I hear his step or see his form — peace to his 
spirit! Much do I owe to him for his exemplary life and 
the example he set me—respectful to all, doing good and 
aiding the poor and needy of this world !" 

More than a half century later, a thinker and philan- 
thropist wrote of Robert White, — "It was he who so im- 
pressed our sainted Theodore Parker of most blessed 
memory with the reality of the Motherhood of God. May 
his memory be blessed for thus exerting such an influence 
upon the grandest prophet of the century just passed !" 

-Anna had been appointed to care for women visitors 
and inquirers, entertained at the second dwelling, which 
also held the nurses' apartments. The sister in charge, 
she was expected to sleep in the room with guests, in 
whose admission little care seems to have been exercised. 
Once, she found an insane woman with murderous ten- 
dencies under her charge, and watched and controlled her 
through the long night alone. Again, another, not much 
better, whose rum-bottle she discovered after the house 
had been closed for the night. The bottle she took away 
and the woman she governed by her strong mental con- 



Sister Eunice Cantrell. 



3* 



trol. Frequently, there were groups of children, and often 
one, two, or three babies to be cared for. The year 1856 
was marked by the coming of many people, including chil- 
dren. March was cold and stormy. Visitors came and 
went. After the departure of one group, "Cleaned up the 
visitors' room for the next gathering. 20th. My thoughts 
have been in the future, looking forward to the increase of 
truth, to the spread of the gospel, and of the great neces- 
sity of being faithful in the work of salvation, so that in 
after years, I can look back with perfect satisfaction upon 
my gospel travel." 

Christmas brought changes in the Ministry. She writes : 
"I love and bless every gift in Zion, love those who have 
through suffering and tribulation kept the gospel for me. 
I will walk in their footsteps." 

"1857, Dec. 1st. Death has visited us. Our much loved 
sister Eunice (Cantrell) has left us to dwell in the land 
of spirits. Never shall we behold her pleasant visage, or 
be partakers of the good she imparted from temporal 
labors. All shared in them alike. It is very near eight 
years that she has worked in the dairy. We shall miss 
her much, because we loved her, — ready and willing to 
perform any little act of kindness to a brother or sister 
that lay in her power. May she hover around us, a guard- 
ian angel, aiding and bestowing power to the needy from 
her bright home in heaven ! Farewell, dear sister in love, 
may I so live that thee may greet and welcome me when I 
have finished my work on earth! 

"Dec. 3rd. The funeral services were held. The new 
burial ground has been for the first time broken open. 
A windy, blustering day, and we felt it much on the moun- 
tain, sang one song and returned from the solemn scene, 
praying that we may be reconciled to the heavy blow. Sis- 
ter Eunice is in her forty-seventh year. 

"Dec. 20th. A day of fasting and prayer. We improve 
in the yearly sacrifice. A beautiful day and I rejoice in the 



3i Eldress Anna White. 

work of salvation. May this continually be the breathing 
of my soul, that saving power may be mine, that truth and 
honesty may be my guide, and that repentance may reach 
the inmost recesses of the heart, washing and cleansing 
from all sin, even the very stains of sin, — O good angels, 
help me !" 

Before Christmas, she records the going of Asenath 
Clark, released the year before from the Ministry. "A be- 
loved Mother in Israel, a tried and faithful soldier of the 
Cross, has finished her work on earth, and, like a sheaf 
of corn fully ripe, is gathered to her own beautiful man- 
sion with redeemed and purified souls, there to dwell for- 
ever. Many are the encouraging words she has given me, 
and I am thankful that I have seen and been owned and 
blessed by her as one of Mother's first-born. Peace to thy 
spirit, so meek and full of hope !" 

Anna's love of the mountains about her Shaker home 
was second only to her love of the sea. What it meant 
to her to give up the blue, beckoning waves, none but 
herself ever knew. Her keen delight on the few rare oc- 
casions when she visited the ocean is well remembered. 
But she delighted in the mountains. In long summer days 
she and her companions roamed over them, gathering the 
berries which everywhere grew abundantly, garnering har- 
vests of beauty, health and inspiration. In June, the hills 
were rosy with wild strawberries, and for years the sisters 
supplied the family table with their sweet, spicy flavor. 
The land was blue with violets, and, as long as she was 
able, each springtime found her in some haunt of these 
flowers. Nutting in autumn was sometimes enjoyed, the 
sisters having many a happy day under the care of the 
brothers, as they and the boys shook down the brown 
beauties of the autumn woods. From brooks, spicy with 
mint, beautiful ravines, flashing in foam from the water- 
falls, their cool, deep woods bright with flowers and sweet 
with bird-songs, from sunny, open pastures and rich, wide 



Elder Richard Bushnell. 



meadows, flowed, year by year, into her receptive nature 
the tide of pure, glad inspiration — the sense of the beauty, 
the love, the goodness of God. 

"1858, May 30th. Beautiful is the unfolding of Nature! 
Lovely is creation adorned with rich blessings descending 
from an All- Wise Parent! In sweet harmony let me join 
in praises and thanksgiving, for all created things appear 
to swell in gratitude to their Maker. Then let me not be 
stupid or void of feeling, but unite in simplicity with the 
little birds of the field and sing songs of praise, and with 
the frisking lambs, innocent in their merry sports, dancing 
joyously; with the trees of the wood, with every flower 
and shrub bursting in gratitude and gladness into new 
life! This is what I want, new life, like the spring." 

In October, Elder Richard Bushnell was removed tem- 
porarily to the Ministry. The event calls forth these re- 
flections: "Through the varied scenes of time, perhaps 
tribulation more frequently visits the abodes of Zion and 
distills in the hearts of her inhabitants that sorrow, that 
g#dly sorrow, that meiteth the contrite and boweth low 
the soul who is given up in simple obedience to the re- 
quirements of the gospel, than any other one thing. Still, 
there is comfort in sorrow, in weeping and sighing, yea, 
more pleasure and enjoyment to be derived therefrom (if 
the soul works with God) than any transitory pleasure, 
however enticing or captivating to the carnal mind. The 
followers of the Lamb can and do rejoice in it, for to such 
He draweth near with healing in his wings, with a staff of 
support and strength, with a iSfcirit full of Truth and 
Power, with a heart overflowing with love and mercy. 
Our Heavenly Father and Mother careth for the tender 
lambs of the fold. Therefore, there is no cause for fear, 
no need of unreconciliation. Elder Richard wanted us to 
look cheerful, cheerful. With such examples of self-sac- 
rifice as these, I can but bless the gift, believe it is of God, 
and can bow in reconciliation to His will, as made known 



34 



Eldress Anna White. 



through the holy Anointed. Elder Richard has ever been 
a Father to me, and the precious words he has uttered, 
so fraught with love, will be treasured up with care as 
precious pearls. Many a lesson of wisdom have I learned 
by his goodly instructions and I have striven to lay them 
up in an honest heart. 

"1859, Miarch 20th. The brethren have commenced opera- 
tions on the barn, are now very busy sawing, sat up every 
night this week. No visitors at present. A good time for 
serious meditation." 

The big stone barn, then the largest in the United States, 
built of loose stones gathered from fields close by, was 
completed and occupied for the first time on March 4th, 
i860. 

"Sabbath, April 24th, 1859, is marked by an event that 
has never happened before. At the Presbyterian Meeting- 
house in the "Valley, an invitation was given to Elder 
Frederick to attend service. The invitation was accepted 
and over thirty from the Shaker Village attended." 

"August 8th. We have a great privilege in meeting with 
our dear gospel friends from Canterbury, Brother David 
Parker, Eldress Sister Dorothy Durgin and Sister Mary 
Whitchor. We have a lovely visit from them this evening, 
or rather, a religious meeting, singing, speaking, etc. There 
has been a work of God at Canterbury — of humility and 
repentance, and of these they administered, particularly 
Eldress Sister. She is one, I think, that is wholly devoted, 
body, soul and spirit, to the gospel. If I can be clad with 
a garment of purity, of meekness and love, for what more 
can I ask? /Nothing, for these combined form the gospel." 

At the close of a wearisome, heated month of service 
in the dining-room, she records: "August 29th. Ended 
the kitchen turn. Sept. 3rd. Sabbath. Went down to the 
sick-room and gave myself up to the nurses. Chills and 
fever are prevalent." Five days later, she opens her jour- 
nal to record the death by accident of a worker on the big 



Anna "Nigh Unto Death." 



35 



barn. "A staging gave way, one was killed and two others 
seriously injured." 

This was her last entry. Long weeks followed of delir- 
ium and fever. Sanitation was not understood, fifty years 
ago, and fevers, now practically unknown in Shaker homes, 
were frequent. Much hadl been brought to bear upon the 
devoted young sister, during her ten years of Shaker life, 
severe trials from without as well as the difficult experi- 
ences of a young disciple within the order. Perhaps a 
chief cause of the trouble was the poisoned atmosphere 
often breathed in the sleeping-room shared with women 
visitors. Congestion of the brain accompanied the fever, 
and a prolonged and violent hemorrhage threatened to end 
her life. A skillful physician, resident in the Society, took 
charge of the case, and to his devoted care was largely 
due the successful termination of the illness. The beauti- 
ful autumn weeks, so glorious in her mountain home, Anna 
lay nigh unto death, and after the fever had subsided, 
weak as an infant, in the tender care of the nurses. Her 
family were sent for, her mother, sisters and brother John 
visited her, thinking never to see their loved one again 
on earth. Their sorrow, deep and sincere, was equalled 
by the grief that wrung the hearts of her spiritual kindred, 
whose love had been gained by her sweet humility, her 
loving, self-sacrificing spirit. But, (God was good, and she 
was restored. When, after many weeks, she stood v upon 
her feet, she found; herself utterly unable to walk, and 
had to learn to walk, like a little child. 

On Christmas Day she resumed her journal. 

"O blessed day, in which I live, the blessed cross to bear, 
None other blessing do I ask, all are supplied with care. 
Father and Mother have I found, I dwell with them each 
day; 

They are my comfort and delight, they're my support and 
stay. 



36 



Eldress Anna White. 



They feed me when I'm hungry, they clothe me when I'm 
poor, 

Lo, at this fountain I will drink, yea, drink and thirst no 
more." 

"Assemble at 10 o'clock with our Canaan friends for 
meeting. Beautiful testimonies are delivered. Many spoke 
their faith and many ministering angels were present, be- 
stowing beautiful gifts which were improved. With thank* 
ful heart I can say that I am able to exercise and enjoy 
the worship of God in a small measure. Had it not been 
for kind and sympathizing friends, my dear gospel rela- 
tion, I should not have sustained life. For some unknown 
purpose I am permitted and privileged to remain awhile 
longer, thankful that I can bear the cross and be traveling 
farther and farther away from a carnal nature, into the 
purity of the gospel. May I ever prove worthy of the 
love and affection, the sympathy and interest, that have 
been and still are extended to me, from kind fathers and 
mothers, brothers and sisters. The great debt of gratitude 
to them I owe, and can only be paid by faithful obedience 
in being truly honest and simply good. This I can do and 
will, all shall know, see and feel where my treasure lies 
and where it is hid. 

"January ist. i860 has fairly commenced. A happy, 
happy New Year, I would wish all, happy in being good 
and doing good. I will with the year set out anew and 
find a permanent increase. Had a song this morning, T 
hear a Voice.' The gift of songs is a beautiful gift, 
which I desire to prize greatly and be more thankful for 
the measure I have." 

Anna White's gift of song was truly a beautiful one. 
Songs and hymns, throbbing with spiritual life and love, 
redolent of the sweet airs of the heavens in which her 
spirit dwelt, are found here and there in the printed vol- 
umes, in books of manuscript melodies and in the mem- 
ories of the few who remain of her early associates. Never 



Willing to Obey. 



37 



regarding herself as a singer, her rich, sweet voice, full of 
the power of the Spirit, added beauty and strength to the 
united tones of family and society, while her memory was 
alive with song. 



VI 

HER appointment to the Elders' Order, in 1865, 
upon the transfer of Eldress Harriet Bullard to 
Watervliet, was a most unwelcome surprise. To 
her remonstrance, Eldress Antoinette replied, 
"Well, Anna, you can obey me, can't you? You are pretty 
good at obeying." 

The sisters tell of her that after the interview, she re- 
treated to the kitchen, retired behind the stove, and sat 
down on a bench against the wall, with face hidden in her 
hands and elbows on her knees. "What is the matter, 
Anna?" was asked. No answer. At last, some one drew 
out the tearful reply, "You are all so much older and 
wiser than I am!" They lovingly assured her that she 
had their union and blessing in the call. As associate El- 
dress, she had especial care of the girls, and, with her 
great love for young people, she was very gifted in the 
gathering of young sisters, the development of their char- 
acters and the nurture of their spiritual life. 

In a letter to the Ministry, after nineteen years' ex- 
perience, she says : — "Theories are good in their place and 
knowledge of divine things is necessary, but I would 
rather be void of this knowledge, unless I can put into 
practice the benefits derived therefrom. It was this beauti- 
ful practical religion of Believers that attracted me to 
them. And from that time to this, I have grown stronger 
in the faith of practical works. I see the result of it upon 
individuals who are working out their salvation. They 
are the salt of the earth — Saviors — their bearing in every 



3B 



Eldress Anna White. 



way denotes the purity of their lives and their counten- 
ances reflect the image of our Heavenly Father and Mo- 
ther. Such I would become, to have my Father's and 
Mother's name written upon my forehead — stamped upon 
my character." 

A cherished bundle of home letters tells of changes 
that left but two of the circle surrounding her youth. 
Fhebe's loving letters grow fewer, consumption had seized 
upon her. John, whose health had begun to fail, spent a 
year in Europe, hoping for recovery. A graduate of Har- 
vard, he had been a student under Professor Agassiz, to 
whom ihe was warmly attached. The last letter from her 
mother, dated in October, 1871, was written from Rachel's 
home in Orange, New Jersey, inviting Anna to visit them. 
In July, 1872, Rachel writes of the sudden death, by hem- 
orrhage of the lungs, of their brother John, who was 
taken iat the home of Cornell, while alone, with only the 
servants. The next September, their mother passes away, 
and, in the following February, their sister Phebe was 
released from suffering. 

While these events were transpiring among her natural 
kindred, Shaker homes were astir with life and energy. 
Sister Anna writes in March, 1871, "Spiritual elements are 
ripe and rife for the truth. Progress among mankind 
really wonderful, endorsing the leading principles that 
constitute Believers' testimony. !Good angels speed the 
work, good angels in the body!" Sister Anna was an 
active participant in a missionary movement, started at 
Mount Lebanon, in which other societies united, holding 
conventions at central points, sometimes in connection 
with Spiritualists and Free-thinkers. In the summer of 
1871, Elder Evans, in company with his friend and ad- 
mirer, Dr. James M. Peebles, went on a missionary tour 
to England. A trip was made to New York. "Here we 
meet Elder Frederick. After breakfasting, we turned our 
whole attention to him, saw some to his clothes, and then 



They Meet the Maine Ministry. 30 



went with him over to Jersey City to visit the great 
steamer Atlantic. We crowd into the little stateroom and 
James requests a song, 'God is infinitely able/ Something 
gives way inside and there is a breakdown. We put to 
again and succeed tolerably well. Sing 'A few more 
Sfoadows/ and 'Pure Love/ then the adieu. Burdens of 
home gather about us with the shadows. We pray as we 
never prayed before/' 

"Our Eastern Journey," by M. P. and A. W. is a lively 
story, full of appreciation and enjoyment. 

"Thursday A.M., July ioth, 1873. All creation seemed 
lit with beauty on this lovely morning, and joy burst forth 
from bird and insect. The waving grain, the grand old 
woods and fragrant flowers seemed no less joyous, they 
speak one language, harmony and love. But how is it with 
us? I rather think there was a blending of joy and sor- 
row. We felt rather sad at leaving home, and the little 
burdens that we could have, borne were left for others 
to shoulder. However, it was not our own gift, and I 
think we united with it pretty well upon the whole." 

The sisters met the Maine Ministry at Hancock and 
journeyed home with them. At Boston, they met the Har- 
vard Ministry, who accompanied them as far as Portland. 
"We put up at the Marlborough House. Walk on Boston 
Common and admire the Old Elm, sing Shaker songs in 
the parlor. After breakfast, were conveyed by a coach to 
the Portland boat, the New York, the largest boat I was 
ever on. A misty morning and a rough passage, all the 
sisters in the party sick, except myself. 

"Entering the village of Alfred in the opposite direction 
from what I had expected, my points of compass were 
hopelessly reversed and remained so during our stay. The 
sun would appear first in the west in the morning and 
vanish from sight behind the eastern hills at night. 

"July 14th. Elder John Vance took us out riding around 
the pond back of the house, — a beautiful sheet of water. 



4 o 



Eldress Anna White. 



This is the roughest country I ever saw. Rock, rock, on 
every side, fields of granite stone, yielding nothing else. 
The scenery is enchanting, almost as beautiful as my own 
dear mountain home. The next day, go to Old Orchard, 
a long, dusty, but not disagreeable ride of twenty miles. 
Stop at Saco for an hour, improve the time by taking a 
good nap. As we drew near the beach, we felt the change 
in the atmosphere. O how exhilarating ! How inviting to 
the feeble frame! Three angel faces greeted us with a 
welcome ere we alighted. The dear Ministry had taken 
the cars and arrived before us. These are the angels — 
the blessed beings who make earth a Paradise. Pine 
Cottage is the name of our stopping-place. But the first 
thing is the bathing! Elder John comes to the door with 
a glass of cordial. We drink, we run, we skip and jump 
in our girlish glee, and forget all cares and troubles while 
buried in the sea. The beach, extending for miles, is as 
smooth as a pebble and as hard as a stone floor. Nothing 
can exceed the bathing.* The waves do not run quite as 
high as at Long Branch, but they are sufficiently high for 
us little folks. Elder John takes us a long way out, and, 
as we float on the white-crested billows, protected by his 
strong arm, we think of the ocean of life that we are 
breasting and of the All-Mighty Arm that will bear us up 
and give us strength, according to our day. 

"Friday, 18th. A cold north-east storm has reached us. 
Eldress Hester has the fire-board taken down and we have 
a fine crackling fire to warm us under the July sun which 
does not shine. The mist rising from the ocean is so dense 
that we can scarcely see the white caps from the piazza. 
There can always be joy and happiness emanating from 
the heart, if that is in right tune, and sunshine "will gleam 
therefrom, lighting up life's pilgrimage with a light out- 
shining the splendor of the noonday sun. Eldress Hester 
has enough goodness to save a world, and my dear little 
sister Margaret is rich in spiritual graces, bright and pleas- 



"Our Beautiful Pleasure Time." 41 



ant, though under physical infirmities. Agreeable to our 
faith, we put our hands to work, a thing we haven't done 
before, since we left home. We search the woodhouse 
and find a rough board that Eldress Hester covered with 
a shawl and I set to work cutting out caps for the Min- 
istry, while Eldress Hester and M. P. work on pin cush- 
ions for sale. No bathing for us to-day." 

They visit Gloucester, where they were joined by Brother 
Daniel Offord. Again a visit is paid to Old Orchard and 
acquaintance made with the Indians encamped there. A 
trip is made to Portland and she closes her story, — "A 
sail on Portland Harbor ! Nothing could exceed the scen- 
ery that lay before and around us. Well, we get through, 
have our last meeting in the little room, the last song is 
sung through tears, the last fond words and the mournful 
farewell. Elder Otis accompanies us to Portland and sees 
us safe on the magnificent steamboat. Arrived in Boston, 
rested at the Marlborough House, had a comfortable ride 
to Pittsfield, were met at the train by Elder Frederick. A 
welcome song was sung while we were at dinner, another 
next morning at breakfast. Thanks unbounded to all!" 

"I shall never forget," wrote Eldress Mary Ann Gilles- 
pie, shortly after, "our beautiful pleasure time in the 
grove and the welcome feeling that prevailed. The very 
atmosphere seemed filled with purity and love." 

The year ends in bereavement. In October, Elder Rich- 
ard Bushnell, who had returned home a few months before 
passed peacefully away, at the age of eighty-two. His 
beautiful fatherly presence and his loving ministrations 
were greatly missed in the circle he had blessed for so 
many years. In December, two sisters, tenderly attached 
and both greatly beloved, passed on very suddenly, within 
ai fortnight of each other—Margaret Pattison, Sister An- 
na's companion on the pleasant journey to Maine, and 
Rhoda OfYord, caretaker of the girls and young sisters, 
a beautiful and gifted sister of thirty-four. Sister Anna, 



4^ 



Eldress Anna White. 



strongly attached to both, felt that this last useful and 
beautiful life could not be spared and, with all the mag- 
netic and spiritual force she possessed, strove to save 
her. To such an extent was her vitality poured into the 
sinking life of her younger sister, that, when the one 
passed away, it could hardly be told whether the other 
remained or had passed on in company. 

To Eldress Antoinette, while visiting at Canterbury, she 
writes: "The young sisters are working diligently and 
determinately, to keep their watch and spy out the enemy 
in the distance, ere a closer combat ensue. My heart wells 
up in love for them. I yearn for their spiritual growth, 
and at the same time my own weakness and inability 
creeps upon me. O how much I need to watch and pray, 
to labor for the gift and power of God — need a greater 
portion of your beautiful gift and ministration to souls. 
Spent last evening in labors with the children and by 
earnest working succeeded in reaching their understanding 
and touching their little hearts, so that a good work was 
effected. Monday night, I dreamed of flying, not with 
wings but by will force, all the powers of my being 
were brought into active operation, and to relax these in 
any degree was of course descension, which created pain 
and felt like heavy weights upon my feet. When I 
worked, then I was helped, and the more I worked, the 
more easy was my flight. Where I went, I cannot say, 
but caught a glimpse of you as I ascended, and heard 
beautiful music, which awoke me. I think there is a moral 
to this dream. 

"In my flight from Egypt, there was hard work to be 
done, and, when I worked, all heaven seemed to help me. 
But, if stopping to rest or to sleep upon enchanted ground, 
querying with the enemy, halting as to which path to 
travel, then came the pain, like weights of lead upon my 
spirit, and extra work has to be done, not only by myself 
but others. Thus it is with my spiritual travel, the more 



The Practical Work of the Gospel. 43 



consecration to God, devotedness to truth and obedience 
to faith, producing practical works, the more easy becomes 
the yoke and the lighter grows the burden. And here, I 
would renew my covenant with you and all my gospel 
relation, to come down to the practical work of the gospel, 
be what I seem to be and seem to be what I really am. 
I believe this to be the only way that I can ascend and 
dwell in the angelic spheres." 
To> another, she writes : 

"I love you with a love that will never die and that never 
grows old, a love that is gained through similar efforts 
to those made by you, by sacrifices and devotedness of 
body and soul to the one cause. How beautiful this one- 
ness of spirit, to be living the same life, baptized with 
the same baptism, sympathizing with one another in like 
trials and temptations, that at times beset the Zion trav- 
eler, and rejoicing in like manner when a victory is ac- 
complished." A reference to the Deaconess sisters, "cum- 
bered with much serving," calls forth this whimsical but 
suggestive exegesis : 

"I have thought when reading the story of Martha and 
Mary, that Jesus did not and could not (being a man) 
comprehend the position that poor Martha might have 
been in. Why, she might have been washing or ironing, 
or preparing a meal, cooking or baking; maybe, the water 
was all boiling, or the irons all hot, and it may have been 
an extravagant use of wood to put off the work. It might 
have been the time for the bread or pies to have gone in 
the oven, or the potatoes to have been put on or taken 
off, and, O dear! perhaps the sauce was burning! Jesus 
and his brethren would no doubt have felt very badly 
(for I do not think they were so very unlike the brethren 
of our day) if the meal had not been in season, or the 
food good. If this was the case, certainly Martha needed 
Mary's assistance very much. Martha was the first to 
receive Jesus into her home, and she felt the burden of 



44 



Eldress Anna White. 



caring (and Jesus gave her the credit of being careful) 
and looking after everything in the house, seeing that 
things were put in order, and if such a guest as Jesus 
tarried over night, she would, of course, if she was like 
the sisters of our own day, feel uncommonly particular 
that the room he slept in should be tidy. She would 
make the beds, clean, sweep, rub, dust and garnish it 
throughout, and this would take a deal of time, and I do 
not wonder that she asked for Mary's help. To be sure, 
Mary was receiving the word that was good for the soul, 
but, if she had taken hold and helped Martha, then Mar- 
tha would have had the same privilege and both been 
benefitted alike. If Jesus then had had a counterpart in 
the person of an Elder Sister, probably this would have 
been the case. So we, the daughters of the Resurrection, 
have great reason to be thankful that we are blest with 
an ANN CHRIST as well as a JESUS' CHRIST." 

During the years 1873- 1875, the North Family Elders 
published a dual paper, entitled "Shaker and Shakeress." 
Elder Frederick was editor of the first part and Eldress 
Antoinette of the second. The magazine was of a high 
order and was very successful, a channel of gospel union 
and fellowship and a means of imparting Shaker ideas 
to the world at large. Sister Anna, as assistant to Eldress 
Antoinette, found the work a great benefit, becoming an 
expert proof-reader and developing rapidly in literary 
taste and critical ability. 

Her personal experiences in the great fire at Mount Le- 
banon, on the "eventful day of February 6th, 1875," are 
thus recorded : 

"It was Saturday morning, cold and bleak, thermom- 
eter standing 9 below zero, wind surly and hoarse with 
blustering force, clouds above and ice below. Gathered 
into our warm and comfortable shops, engaged in various 
occupations, more than one felt to offer thanks to our 
good Father and Mother for a shelter from the inclemency 



Terrible Reality of a Fire. 



45 



of the season. Toward the noonday hour, after the half- 
hour bell had rung and before the fifteen minute whistle 
sounded, the bell again was heard. Its continued ringing 
and the shrill shriek of the whistle, long and loud, awoke 
us to the terrible reality of the existence of a fire. 

"It was soon ascertained to be the sisters' shop at the 
Church, and, as we glided over the ice-paved ground, we 
could see clouds of smoke roll up and ere we entered the 
dooryard one sheet of flame met our gaze. Attention was 
then turned to the dwelling-house and the Ministry's shop. 
Wet carpets were suspended from windows and pails of 
water dashed against the house. I was the first sister over 
and went direct to the kitchen, to see if more water could 
be procured. There, threw off cloak and went up stairs 
to be of more assistance. My cloak and the articles in the 
pockets were burned. Up stairs, I met Eliza Sharp, who 
said with much emphasis, This house ain't going to burn 
down !' repeating the remark a second time. I said, I 
hoped not. Met a sister coming down with an armful of 
bedclothes. Took them from her and carried them to 
the meeting-house. -Here, found the Ministry's shop in 
danger. They had commenced to move out. Our family 
sisters were the only ones to help them, all the rest were 
busy securing things from the dwelling-house. Every 
movable thing was saved from the shop, except the stoves. 

"The dwelling-house was struck first. It might well be 
compared to the igniting of a match. The sisters' shop, 
with all that it contained, seventy-five cords of sawed and 
split wood in it and seventy-five cords piled in front of it, 
made a tremendous heat, so that when the dwelling did 
ignite, it went off like a flash, and, as the flames burst out 
of the windows, one could but think of red, fiery-tongued 
demons venting their horrid rage upon some inoffensive 
thing, in haste to devour all in their course. None tarried 
long to look at the dreadful sight — a glance told the whole 
story. The wind continued with unabated fury and the 



4 o 



Eldkess Anna White. 



Infirmary was in danger. From there, we carried things 
to the Office, and, while so doing, the old barn, east of 
the schoolhouse, caught fire, the brethren barely saving the 
cattle which were in it. From the Infirmary, I went up 
to the schoolhouse and from there across to the Dairy, 
went in and got a little warm by Sally Dean's stove. I 
was almost perished with cold; she kindly lent me a pair 
of mittens. Then to aged sisters' shop, w T hich was almost 
cleared. Stayed there and finished. The wind had shifted 
cowards the south and had already communicated the 
fire to the gas house and the ice house. The brethren's 
brick shop, still standing, was so hot that the walls hissed 
when a wet finger was applied. Seven barrels of kerosene 
were got out of the woodhouse, though the barrels were 
hot when removed. The Ministry's things were mostly 
carried over to the North Family, through Eldress An- 
toinette's instrumentality, with a quantity of sisters' cloth- 
ing. Henry Tilden with his men from New Lebanon saved 
the Meeting-house. The outside was very much defaced. 
The Infirmary caught fire once, the door very much 
charred, windows and blinds ruined. Water froze the mo- 
ment it touched anything except where the heat of the 
fire was felt. In the buildings that did not burn, floors 
and stairs were covered with ice a quarter of an inch in 
thickness. Eldress Harriet Goodwin was in her room, 
hunting for the Covenant, Brother Frederic Sizer with 
her. When this became known. Brother Timothy Rayson 
and John Greaves, at the risk of their own lives, rushed 
for ladders. They succeeded in getting one. Timothy 
burned his hand badly and John his coat, but Eldress 
Harriet reached terra firma safely, as did Brother Fred- 
eric. After that, Elder Daniel Crossman went up and suc- 
ceeded in procuring the desired article. When he came 
down, his frock was burned almost off his back. In less 
than three hours, eight buildings were laid in ashes. The 
Pittsfield fire company came over the mountain, bad as it 
was, in fifty-five minutes." 



Eldress Antoinette Passes Away. 47 



VII. 

ELDRESS HARRIET BULLARD was recalled 
from Watervliet, in 1881, to fill a vacancy in the 
Ministry, as associate with Eldress Ann Taylor. 
Thus, Sister Anna had again the beloved Eldress 
Harriet, who had helped establish her on the rock of truth 
in the fierce storms of her youthful experience. The 
relation between them was always beautiful, their mutual 
love and confidence increasing with years and deepening 
spiritual experiences. 

Eldress Antoinette, whose physical powers were failing, 
gradually withdrew from active participation in the family 
life. Sister Anna came and went on the duties incident 
to her office, returning to their living-room at night to 
meet the loving greeting and endearing smile of her be- 
loved Mother, but, even to ner hopeful eyes, it became 
apparent that the parting must soon come. On Christmas 
Day, 1886, Eldress Antoinette attended the morning ser- 
vice with the family, and administered the gospel testi- 
mony. On the last night of the year, in the early hours of 
the evening, she passed peacefully away. Sister Anna, who 
had planned to watch with her, had yielded to her last 
request to retire, that implicit obedience which had marked 
her thirty-seven years of dutiful affection, but soon re- 
turned, eager for the glad look and welcoming smile, only 
to be met with a very "blunt announcement that her be- 
loved Mother had left her. The shock was fearful and 
the agitation of her grief-stricken heart was great. 

The services in memory of this old resident and native 
of the neighboring village, the well-known Eldress, whose 
presence and eloquent addresses were so familiar on east- 
ern platforms, could be attended by few outside of the 
Shaker village, on account of the inclement weather and 
the condition of the 'highways, (blocked by snow and ice. 
At this service, Anna White wias announced by the Min- 



48 



Eldress Anna White. 



istry to be the successor of Eldress Antoinette, Eldress of 
the North Family. With her ever keen sense of unfitness 
for positions of responsibility, Eldress Anna felt the bur- 
den of her position rest upon her with almost crushing 
weight. "I cannot be Eldress Antoinette," was her cry of 
humility, when sisters came to her with their trials, until 
silenced by the assurance that they did not want her to be 
Eldress Antoinette, but Eldress Anna, and, for twentyfour 
years more, she filled the place of Mother, Guide, Coun- 
selor and Friend. 

Eldress Antoinette had found the brethren in full charge 
of all business and financial matters, and, with her sense 
of equality, in accordance with Shaker faith, she believed 
that the hard-working sisters should have their own in- 
terest and the care of their own earnings. She obtained 
the consent of the Ministry, and, starting with nothing, 
without a dollar of capital, beyond the utensils employed 
in their industries and their consecrated labor, the sisters, 
under her economical use of funds and prudent invest- 
ments, acquired a competence, the fruit of their united 
labor and economy, besides paying their just share of the 
expenses of the home. This financial burden, the manage- 
ment of the sisters' income, was one item from which El- 
dress Anna shrank with dread, regarding herself unfitted 
by nature and lack of experience to deal with the business 
end of her profession. Seeking advice from her bankers, 
moving cautiously, the sisters' interests prospered under 
her care, as did their spiritual welfare. "I am among 
you as one that serveth," was her motto. "Never will I 
cry the burden of the Lord," she would often exclaim. 
Whatever the call, however crossing the demand, duty and 
service were her watchwords, and never did she flinch at 
difficulty or hardship. If a wall of error lay athwart her 
path, she went at it with the hammer of truth, and it 
went down before her. With faith and courage, she faced 
every crisis. The house might be emptied of denied and 



Mission to the West. 



49 



unworthy members, but the life should be kept pure and 
the mission and meaning of the home be maintained. Yet, 
none was ever more careful to preserve, more watchful 
to detect, by every power of insight and spiritual intuition, 
the hidden gems of character. No broken reed of purpose 
nor smoking flax of desire for purity and goodness was 
destroyed through her prejudice, blindness and rash deal- 
ing. Hand in hand with the angels of love, hope and 
revelation, she walked daily, in all her dealings with her 
people. She ministered at the altar, and she was a nurse 
and a bearing mother to> hundreds who arose to call her 
blessed and to recognize in her their saviour in the visible 
form. 

Another deep sorrow came to Eldress Anna in this try- 
ing year. Her beloved sister in the faith, Eldress Mary 
Ann Gillespie, of the Maine Ministry, with whom she had 
passed many happy hours, and with whom so rich and 
enjoyable a correspondence had been maintained, passed 
suddenly away. It was said of her, and was equally true 
of iher younger sister in the faith, "Her heart was full of 
love for all humanity." 

Before Eldress Anna had become accustomed to the 
responsibilities of her position, and long before she had 
ceased to feel out for the strong arm on which she had 
been wont to lean, she was summoned to the Ministry's 
dwelling and the subject broached, by Eldress Ann Taylor, 
of the proper person to accompany her associate on a long 
journey and laborious mission among the societies in Ohio 
and Kentucky. The presence, ministration and executive 
action of the Central Ministry were needed and Elder 
Giles B. Avery and Eldress Harriet Bullard were to go. 
"I cannot send Eldress Harriet alone on 1 such a long 
journey," said Eldress Ann, "and I have decided to send 
Anna with, her." "Anna Dodgson?" was the innocent re- 
ply, 'I think she will be just the one." "Nay," replied the 
Eldress, "not her, but Anna White." It was a very un- 



go 



Eldress Anna White. 



welcome call. Eldress Anna felt thai she could not leave 
her family and, moreover, she was a poor traveler, fond of 
her home, and very unwilling at all times to go abroad. 
However, after listening to Eldress Ann's reasons, her 
habit of obedience came to her aid and she reluctantly 
consented. There is a picture of Eldress Anna, taken be- 
fore this western visit, which, while an excellent like- 
ness, shows the sterner side of her nature, her energy 
and self-control, but the sweetness and tenderness, which 
come to the surface in every other picture of her, are 
missing. She said of it, "I felt cross and out of sorts, 
for I did not want to go \" An interesting journal was 
kept, giving a picture of the ups and downs of the 
journey, the beautiful and romantic scenery, the moun- 
tains climbed, the rivers crossed, the country, "God- 
forsaken," as she expresses it, in some parts of Ken- 
tucky, not yet cleared of the ruin and devastation 
by the Civil War. 

In the Shaker homes, they found a loving welcome, 
kind friends, many true gospel saints and Believers who 
loved and practiced their faith. They also found in many 
parts a condition which, to their inner vision, held the 
seeds of dissolution and destruction. Eldress Anna's 
spirit of testimony was enkindled and she gave it forth 
in her fearless manner. The young people gathered 
to her as at home, and she spared no pains to teach and 
enlighten, and in every possible way to establish them 
upon the rock of true Shaker faith and principle. She 
taught the children Shaker songs and so inspired the 
younger sisters with a desire for this beautiful gift, 
that before she left them the gift descended upon one 
of them and a song was 1 given. But the long journeys 
in the increasing heat of the southern spring were too 
much for her slender store of strength, already so se- 
verely drained by her struggle with bereavement and new 
responsibilities. Prolonged spells of unconsciousness 



Vision of Friends Un§wrn. 



5i 



grew more frequent, alarming her friends and travel- 
ing companions. News of her condition reaching the 
Home Ministry, the company was recalled and, after 
three months' absence and work among the western 
societies, they started homeward. 

Eldress Anna had been at home but a short time, when 
Elder Frederick, again accompanied by Dr. Peebles, went 
abroad for a second missionary tour of England and 
Scotland. In July, with four others, she accompanied 
him to New York to see him off. The thronging streets 
of the great city impress her thus: "A releasement of 
thirty-eight years from confinement within brick walls 
and stone pavements, out into the green pastures and 
beside the still waters, made my heart leap for joy at 
at the recollection of so happy an escape. It has been 
prophesied that New York City would be swallowed 
up by water, and, as immigration and crime increase, 
is there not danger? We would readily admit that a 
spiritual wave or earthquake might engulf it to 
advantage." 

To Eldress Hester Ann Adams, of the Maine Minis- 
try, Eldress Anna wrote : "Sometimes, in the silent hours 
of the night, the friends unseen to mortal vision draw 
the nearest. It was so last night. I dreamed of be- 
loved Elder Otis and dear Eldress Mary, not so very 
distinctly, but sufficiently to gather of their spirit. Elder 
Otis was encompassed in waves of light; not the light 
of the sun, nor of the moon, nor of candles, neither 
of gas nor electricity, for the splendor outshone all 
of these put together; and in this light, he seemed to 
live and move and have his being, and he was exhort- 
ing, in the most entreating manner, that others should 
be immersed in the same ocean of light and love. He 
would extend his arms and embrace one after another 
as they went to him, descending and again ascending, 
as the waves came and receded. I noticed particularly 



52 



Eldress Anna White. 



that some rushed eagerly forward, anxious to reach him 
first, others rather unconcernedly, as though there was 
plenty of time, and again others very reluctantly. This 
seemed to grieve him very much, insomuch that he 
wept. At this juncture, Eldress Mary appeared, wav- 
ing her arms and motioning her hands toward Elder 
Otis, and beckoning me to follow, and in another mo- 
ment, I was by her side and in her embraces. The 
interview was brief, but it left rather a sorrowful im- 
pression, though her countenance bore not the expres- 
sion of sorrow or of sadness. 

"I gathered the feeling from her that she expressed 
in one of her last letters to me, where she says, 'I do 
not want to die. I want to live, to see the gospel in- 
crease in the earth/ / This is the sum and substance of 
the dream, and now you will not wonder that I make 
my way to you as quickly , as some of those people did 
to good Elder Otis. The visions and dreams of the 
night pass away, but impressions remain, and we are 
more than willing that they should. 

"In the one year that has passed since our dear mother 
went home, I have learned a few lessons, and, as you 
sort of claim me as one of your children, will relate 
one of them, that you may know what progress I am 
making. It is this. That, as we are residents of earth, 
have earthly duties to perform and fulfill to ourselves 
and others, and this is our allotted sphere to work in 
for the time being, it will not answer to have the sense 
too divided, lest, in the attempt to be in both spheres 
at one and the same time, we miss of the blessing of 
both. I was gently reprimanded by Eldress Antoinette 
for this as I was by one other thing. It was in meet- 
ing. My heart was heavy and beating as though it 
would burst its socket. I so felt the need of her strong 
baptism and testimony, and my own inability and weak- 
ness crept over me, that it caused my spirit to sink and 



Lucrative Employment for Sisters. 53 

I gave up to silent weeping. At this she came and laid 
her hand upon my shoulder, saying, 'My child, cast aside 
the mourning and the sighing, put off the habiliments 
of sorrow and gird thyself with the beautiful garments 
of joy for heaviness, of gladness for sadness. I will 
light your path and flowers of heavenly beauty will 
spring up therein. Strength shall be meted out to you, 
according to> your day. Your bread is certain and your 
water is sure. My lovef is as the full flowing fountain, 
and my blessing as the falling rain/ Was not this a 
lesson? Since the loving rebuke, I will not, I dare not 
murmur. I will take the cup of tribulation, however bit- 
ter, and drink it up, if need be, to the very dregs. And 
why not? The sweetness, the saving properties are in 
it that my poor souli needs so much. And the blessing 
of a kind and tender mother is at the end of the road." 

Eldress Anna realized the necessity of securing lucra- 
tive employment for the sisters, that they might earn 
a livelihood, lay by an increase and build up the united 
inheritance. Opportunity offered to undertake shirt- 
making. Machines were installed in a large, well-lighted 
shop, water-power was brought in and the work begun. 
The young sisters, with some of the older ones, took 
this as their daily task, when not employed in the kitchen 
department. Some were appointed to inspect the finished 
work, some to pack the garments. Eldress Anna often 
assisted at the machines, where her quick eyes and me- 
chanical skill were of great advantage. But, if a defective 
place appeared, she would sit, minute after minute, pa- 
tiently picking out the work, wihile the eager race of 
the buzzing machines went on about her, each seeking 
to do the greatest number or to fill a rush order. One 
day, a remonstrance was made. "Why do you pick it 
out, Eldress Anna? The place will never show." She 
promptly replied, — "Even if itf were never seen or criti- 
cized by others, we must know that all which passes 



54 



Eldress Anna White. 



through our hands is done upon honor. In this way, an 
influence for good will go out with all that we have 
handled." This was the spirit manifested in all that she 
did, as well as enforced in her teachings. Perfect work, 
no matter if much or little, but the best in quality. One 
recalls that she was; set to labor for a gift in domestic 
work, and was referred to an older sister as an exem- 
plar. This sister was not one of the most proficient, 
on the contrary, she was proverbially slow and less adept 
than most others. But, coming from a home of wealth, 
all unused to labor with her hands, she had given her 
whole soul to the spiritual work, expressed equally in 
manual labor and religious devotion. Hand labor was 
as sacred to her as prayer and spiritual exercise, and, 
through all the years of her Believer life, she had striven 
with devotion to gain some adaptation and usefulness in 
handiwork. To this sister, far behind many others in 
natural ability along these lines, Eldress Anna directed 
the young disciple, sure that in the gift of consecration, 
she would acquire ability and skill, and the lesson was 
well learned. 

In September, i883, while on a visit to Canterbury, 
Eldress Anna wrote to the Ministry, "Our cup of joy 
was about full to overflowing with gospel treasures gath- 
ered from Canterbury and Enfield, and we felt rich and 
happy to be the recipients and in the anticipation of 
being bestowers at home and elsewhere of the great 
wealth received, wnen, at the last of the feast, which 
was far from being the best of the wine, we received 
the sad intelligence of precious Eldress Hester's exit 
to the land of souls. It was like a paralytic shock — a 
a shock from which we have not yet recovered. 

"A mother like dear Eldress Hester is seldom found. 
Myself loved her better than any other one out of our 
own society, because I had reason for so doing; and 
she has borne up so nobly in parting- with Elder Otis 



Love the Only Incentive to Labor, 55 

and Eldress Mary, was spared herself to be a comforter 
to the little band, and now, their Shepherdess is smit- 
ten, and what of the flock? Poor orphan children, their 
wounds just being healed, and now freshly opened again 
by this heavy stroke ! May the best of the heavenly host, 
and we will include them, hover over, protect, cherish, 
comfort, strengthen and nourisih the remainder who are 
left behind. This is our fervent prayer." 

In the autumn of 1891, a Harvest Home Festival was 
held, showing the work done in the (North Family, from 
1820, by young and old. The exhibit, to which much 
thought and care had been given, as well as hard work 
in preparation, covered every department of the indus- 
trial and social life of the family. Eldress Anna wrote, 
"There was a gift in it. Labor truly has its reward. 
The union, love and kindred friendship was enhanced 
many fold. And this is a Christian Community, where 
love is the only incentive to labor and a 'United Inheri- 
tance' in all the blessings of life, the recompense. No 
wage slavery, no task-masters, no monopolies. Brother 
Daniel Offord, who is ever alive to the interests of the 
laborer, asked for the tenants on our farms to have an 
opportunity to attend. They came through his invi- 
tation, much to our gratification and their happiness." 

In June, 1892, she writes: "Spring work outdoors 
presses with uncommon force. Sisters have on lhand 
over 200 dozen shirts, 200 pounds of wool are being 
sorted, cleansed and dyed in the old-fashioned indigo 
blueing tub, 400 yards of cotton cloth bleached in chlor- 
ide. Window-painting, wall-painting, staining, etc., is in- 
cluded in the sum. Brethren are seen skipping here and 
there between the raindrops to\ replant, or, with hoe in 
hand, to uproot, and so it goes." Another June, the 
record tells that Eldress Anna, with three young sis- 
ters, painted, twice over, 325 windows. She was fond 
of wielding the paint-brush, and no less fond of a 



56 



Elder Frederick's Influence. 



quiet joke, which she played one day upon a party of 
finely dressed ladies and gentlemen, who drove into the 
dooryard, where they saw an old lady, in a battered 
Shaker bonnet and well-worn dress stained with paint, 
bending over, plying the brush upon the wooden rail- 
ing about the high Shaker horse-block. To a hesitating 
query, the old lady replied, in an aggrieved tone, "Yea, I 
am an old woman, been here more than half a century, 
and this is the way they treat me. Don't you think 
the Shakers are pretty hard on me?" A sympathetic 
but embarrassed reply was followed by the inquiry if 
they might speak with Eldress Anna White. To their 
amazement, the little figure stood erect, pushed back the 
old bonnet, revealing the noble and expressive features, 
the blue eyes dancing in mischievous glee, as she de- 
murely said, 'Well, they sometimes call me Eldress 
Anna." 

The Grand Old Man of Shakerism, Elder Frederick 
W. Evans, was approaching the end of earthly exist- 
ence. iSecond Elder, when Anna White entered in 1849, 
Head of the family, when she was called to the Elders' 
lot, and her own associate Brother in that Order, Eldress 
Anna owed to him much of her spiritual power and 
mental training. He was a strenuous wielder of the 
theological battle-axe as well as the Sword of the Spirit. 
She would often object, "O Elder Frederick, I don't like 
theology." "But, Sister Anna, you must like theology, 
it is the backbone of faith, j Without a sound theology, 
you cannot use your faith." And he would insist upon 
her following his arguments and fencing with him in the 
workings of his strong, fresh thought. 

He was a great believer in the love of the gospel, 
and the fatherly spirit was as potent a factor in his 
character as the controversialist. Often, he would call 
her insistently from some task, and, when she had come 
to him, he would say, "I want to give you some love!" 



"Love, More Love!" 



57 



"O Elder Frederick," she would exclaim, half impa- 
tiently, "is that all? Why didn't you wait till I was 
through my work?" "Anna," he would reply, with quiz- 
zical solemnity, "Love is the most important thing in 
the world." These half -tantalizing lessons were never 
lost, and one of her own most winning traits, in the 
midst of some combat with a tried or angry spirit, was 
to stop all debate and call for "More Love!" Hard 
indeed was the heart and cruel the temper, that did not 
melt into contrition or break up in a laugh, as the clear 
blue eyes looked straight through one and the pleading- 
lips called for "Love, More Love!" 

An interesting sketch of Elder Frederick, told largely 
in his own words, and a beautiful tribute to his char- 
acter and personality, by Eldress Anna, appeared in the 
April "Manifesto" of 1893. Among her pencillings of 
later years, are these words addressed to Elder Henry 
Blinn : "I lost my spiritual father, Elder Frederick. Nay, 
not lost! He is with me still. His spiritual presence 
forces itself upon me now as I write. His aura fills the 
atmosphere and his strong magnetic voice is heard as 
he says, "My love to Canterbury!" Dear Father! The 
overflow of his love bedims the eyes. He used to call 
me from work just on purpose to give me love. The 
great leading mind and the noble consecrated soul was 
filled with the simplicity of a child. Not always under- 
stood, he lived in advance of his age." In the months 
that followed his passing, Eldress Anna prepared that 
beautiful tribute, entitled "Immortalized." Among her 
papers is a paragraph headed, "Elder Frederick's last 
words." They were spoken to her, just before going 
to the family meeting, on the last night of his life. She 
stepped into his room to see that he wanted for noth- 
ing, and to gather his love and blessing. He said, "It 
is necessary for every human being to have friends in 
the last tryincr hour, friends in the form. There are 



Eldress Anna White. 



hosts of resurrection angels all around us. I have no 
feeling to give up so soon. I have the elements of a 
warrior in me. A person having that in him, he ought 
not to give up to trifles. Of late, my mind has been 
so full, I have hardly had strength to fulfill all duties. 
Good-night, have a spirited gospel meeting for me;' The 
last words were often upon her own lips, in her closing 
days, when! her associate left her to attend the hour of 
family worship. 



VIII 

ELDRESS ANNA loved the spiritual observance of 
Christmas, as instituted by Mother Ann Lee, 
recognizing its inspiration to deeper consecra~ 
tion and purer inner light. She disliked the 
exchange of presents, as too often a meaningless custom 
and, in community life, a needless outlay and scattering 
of force, greatly preferring to see spiritual gifts of love 
and blessing observed in the family, as individual con- 
secration deepened. She entered heartily into the intel- 
lectual feasts, encouraged the singing of Christmas songs, 
and for several years went softly about the halls in the 
dawn of Christmas morning, playing a sweet measure 
upon a cut-glass dish, as her personal contribution to 
the early melodies. It was her special care that the chil- 
dren should have a happy day and it was always a 
cause for rejoicing that their sumptuous tables had not 
called for the suffering or death of any living crea- 
ture. At this season, she often sent out one of her sun- 
lit epistles, the warm glow of love and wide spaces open 
to her spiritual vision shining through its beautifully 
penned pages. To a service of the society, she wrote: 
"Christmas morning. Imprisoned by the enemy that 



"Helpful Thoughts Are Forces of Springtime. 5 * 59 

lies in wait for all in turn, the voice of love has sounded 
continuously through the bars, the well-known tones of 
those who for long years have marched and fought by 
my side, and with the Christmas bells I send back my 
answer of love and good cheer. The walls that have 
kept me from you will soon we trust have disappeared, 
not beaten down by force, as in the ancient tale, but 
vanished through the warm, vitalizing potency of heal- 
ing love. From the vantage-ground of renewing life 
and the fresh enjoyment of life, its mornings and its 
evenings, its pleasant days and, thank God, its restful 
nights, I send you, brothers and sisters, my message of 
peace and love and Christmas joy. One and all, accept 
my love and thanks for your deeds of kindness and 
words of love and for every thought of health and 
strength which has been sent out for my healing. All 
these helpful thoughts are forces of the springtime and 
not one has missed its aim or failed of its mission. To 
one and all, A Happy Christmas!" 

After the passing, a few days before Christmas, of 
one who for thirty years had been her faithful friend 
and loved sister, she wrote in her journal : 

"Christmas morning. Bright, pleasant and joyous is 
this day, ushered in by the subdued light of a cloudy sky. 
Bright, because devoid of shadows ; pleasant, because 
of congenial associations creating a happy, peaceful 
home; and joyous, in the thought of life that 
makes glad the mourner, gives hope to the des- 
pondent, strength to the feeble, courage to the 
strong, and to all that breathes Peace and Goodwill and 
everlasting Christmas. Not the Christ that was, or is to 
be, but the Christ that is, is the Christ for me. — A. W." 

Reform movements along the lines of Shaker faith 
and practice were shared by the North Family, under 
their progressive leaders. As the First Peace Society 
in America, . Shakers joined forces with Peace Societies 



6o 



Eldress Anna White. 



that grew up in the outside order, and delegates from 
the North Family for many years attended the annual 
meetings of the Universal Peace Union. Sanitary and 
vegetarian movements found them already in the van. 
Eldress Anna writes : 

"To Elder Frederick belongs the honor, for honor it 
is, of introducing a vegetarian diet into the North Family, 
fifty years ago and upward. But coffee, tea, eggs and 
dairy products have always been and still are in use. My 
father was a reformer, he took up the Graham system 
and laid hold of the water-cure idea, cold water, at that. 
And when quite young I imbibed the same ideas and 
carried them out, until I went to boarding-school, where 
it was utterly impossible for me to do so. I must either 
eat what was set before me and say nothing for con- 
science' sake, or starve. I was not many years from 
school when I came to Mount Lebanon. The vege- 
tarian diet had been recently introduced, and but four 
out of fifty members had adopted it. It was a great 
innovation and made a great talk. They were persecuted 
in the family and out, and I, naturally, and from a sense 
of duty, too, sympathized and united with them — these 
vegetarians. For fifty-two years, I have practiced and in- 
culcated the vegetarian diet." And this she continued to 
the end of life. 

A most winning trait was her sweet courtesy of uni- 
versal sympathy, overleaping barriers, and going straight 
to a need or longing of stranger or passer by, and her 
kind response to secret impulses toward spiritual illumi- 
nation was felt by many as the best gift of their lives. 
Equally generous was the manner in which she enter- 
tained expressions of thought or theory. To give every 
one an unprejudiced hearing, sympathetic mental hos- 
pitality was her constant attitude. Yet, the balance of 
forces, her unwavering adherence to the principles 
whose truth she had made her own by practical experi- 



An Appeal from California. 6i 

ence, was never in the least degree moved. She was 
often heard to say, "When I find a better way than 
Shakerism, I shall embrace it, as I embraced Shakerism. 
We claim all that is good as part of Shakerism." 

In 1894 an d again in 1896, she spoke in a course of 
lectures by denominational leaders, in the Church of 
the Unity, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In her opening 
words, on the first occasion, she referred to her recol- 
lections of the beautiful inland city. "When I think of 
Pittsfield, forty years ago, a quaint little town, with 
one or two churches and a school, and remember those 
with whom we were acquainted, and see the progress that 
has been made, with many gone to their reward and 
others in their places, we are reminded that this earth 
is not our abiding-place." The talk that followed was 
in her usual frank and happy style, an exposition of 
Shaker thought and life. At the second meeting, she 
read a paper on the True Spiritualism. 

One of many instances, where appeals came from out- 
side workers that Shakers would extend their sphere of 
influence, is a request) from California that the Shakers 
of Mount Lebanon would establish an outpost on the 
Pacific Coast. Eldress Anna replied : "We are very much 
pleased with the tone of your letter; it touches a chord 
in our hearts that vibrates in harmony with our own 
enthusiastic desires, that the truths revealed in our So- 
ciety may at no distant day extend from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific Coast. 'For this gospel must be preached 
in all the world for a witness unto all nations, then shall 
the end come/ The end of what? Of wars, civil, poli- 
tical and religious, of social strife and contentions; of 
pestilence and famine; of inequality and monopoly; of 
poverty and crime; of intemperance and sensuality; of 
slavery and generation. It has come to us; and we re- 
joice with an exceeding great joy that 'the lines have 
fallen to us in such pleasant places.* 



6e 



Eldress Anna White. 



"While we recognize a great army of truth-loving souls, 
like yourself, who are working so persistently for the 
advancement of the race, advocating peace principles, 
temperance, equality, women's rights, etc., we are not 
without hope that eventually a new earthly order will 
arise, wherein use and not abuse of the procreative facul- 
ties in man and woman will be observed, and wherein 
right makes might; even as now exists a heavenly order 
of peace and righteousness, revealed and established by 
divine wisdom and love. It needs the one to sustain the 
other, and we confidently look to this class as being fore- 
runners of the all-important work of redemption. The 
leaven is 1 working. But, my dear friend, until it works 
a little more, we cannot warrant the establishment of 
a Shaker Society in California, or in any other place 
at present. 

"In the meantime, we bless you in your efforts, and 
appreciate the liberal offer you extend. It is not an 
impossible thing, if it is an impracticable one: the future 
must decide. If you could so arrange as to place in 
the public libraries our books and pamphlets, and thus 
lay before the people the great truths therein contained, 
we will agree to furnish a sufficient amount. As you are 
striving to be a redeemer in the generative order, we are 
aiming to be saviours in the resurrection. Let us clasp 
hands. Hoping to hear from you again, I remain your 
friend in the cause of human redemption, Anna 
White/' 

"Mankind," she wrote, "are going up and not down. 
They are moving toward God, the Father of light, and 
the dispenser of all good gifts. A few more steps in 
this direction will lead them to acknowledge a Heavenly 
Mother. The fire that was kindled in the first appear- 
ance of Christ has been and is being rekindled by her 
testimony. Believers should fan the flames and in- 
crease the fire by throwing into it those things which the 



Grief for Sister Martha Anderson. 63 

Spirit of God does not approve. 'Our God is a con- 
suming fire/ She will not only clean; out every vestige 
as small as a breastpin oir finger ring, but the very spirit 
that would keep that life alive. Not only sins commit- 
ted, but the very nature of sin that we all possess is 
embraced in the testimony of Mother, and whoever ac- 
cepts this must part with their dearest idols. The idol 
may be a father, mother, son or daughter, husband or 
wife, selfish property, or some bad habit, like smoking 
orf chewing tobacco — it must eventually be consumed by 
the fire of truth. And happy and glorified is the soul 
who spares no idol, great or small/' 

The sudden death, in November, 1897, of the highly- 
gifted Sister Martha J. Anderson, for several years her 
associate, brought great sorrow. Her grief was so in- 
tense and prolonged, that it brought a remonstrance 
from faithful spirit friends, and a message came from 
the departed sister, begging her loved ones not to mourn 
so hopelessly, for it grieved her and held her back. The 
message, tender as it was, touched the quick conscience 
of Eldress Anna and she condemned herself for indul- 
gence in sorrow, sternly setting herself to take up life's 
burdens anew. But it was long ere she recovered, and 
never did the seasons pass without tender memories 
lingering over Sister Martha's familiar ways and favor- 
ite haunts. The time of her departure was ever one of 
quiet communion with the fond, beautiful spirit so closely 
united to her own. A few days after the going of 
Sister Martha, came the transition of Eldress Ann Tay- 
lor, who seemed in very truth an embodiment of Wis- 
dom and Love. She had said to Eldress Anna, when 
mourning the loss of Eldress Antoinette, "I will be your 
Mother, come to me whenever you want to !" and the 
ties of spiritual kinship between them were especially 
close. These two, closely linked in life and united in their 
passing, were joined in a beautiful memorial, prepared 



Eldress Anna White. 



by Eldress Anna, — a dainty white booklet, named "Only 
Arisen." 

At the time of the Dreyfus affair, the Shaker sisters 
were deeply stirred with indignation^ and sympathy. In 
conjunction with Mary Frost Evans, editor of the Rhode 
Islander, was sent forth "The Shaker Sisters' Plea for 
Dreyfus." Eldress Anna wrote: "We thought our pro- 
test would find a corresponding mind in you, and we 
are not disappointed. We shall continue to do violence 
by waging a more effective war, as only Peace people 
can do, against the baseness of inhumanity to man and 
to woman. I cannot agree with you that 'One voice 
can do but little in this great floodgate of persecution.' 
It can do much. Think what you are doing. If 2000 
years ago, 'One could chase a thousand and two and 
ten thousand to flight/' what may not the closing of this 
nineteenth century do, when one voice can echo through 
the channels of the press to millions of people the world 
over? The still, small voice, sure enough. How it 
gathers in volume, when put forth aright, until it be- 
comes like the voice of many waters, the voice of a 
great thunder. Nay, we are not weak, we are strong!" 

The record of her family closes with a letter to her 
sister Rachel. Cornell White had passed away in 1884, 
from his home at Fort Hamilton, New York Harbor, and 
on May 1st, 1899, Rachel White Baker joined the others 
from her daughter's home at Naugatuck, Connecticut. 
The letter, dated "1. 8, 1899," two days before her sister's 
s event} 7 - third birthday, reads : 

"Dear Sister Rachel: 

"The seasons come and the seasons go, 

Like the summer's rain and the winter's snow. 

"So swiftly they fleet away, and not so fast but that 
at each milestone we stop and consider and ponder over 



Last Letter to Her Sister Rachel. 65 

the past, recognize the present and peer into the future. 
Well for that man and woman who can look back with- 
out a regret, who can joyfully accept the present and 
who with all hope and courage awaits the future. And 
how is my dear sister of seventy-three years? Climbing 
upward, I trust, round upon round, steadily and grace- 
fully. Into my short life have come great trials and 
severe sufferings, surmounted by greater conquests and 
sweeter joys. It may be so in thine. I hope so. There 
are countless aeons yet in store for us in the vast eternity, 
where we will look back upon our short life here as 
but a span, the wink of an eye, or the draught of a breath. 
In this short time we may increase or decrease. Happy 
may it be with us, if at the end we find our life has not all 
been a blank and that we have not lived in vain. In that 
other stage of existence, I trust we shall know each 
other better, understand as we would wish to be under- 
stood, see as we would wish to be seen, love as we would 
wish to be loved. 

"In our busy little world at Mount Lebanon, the con- 
flict ever wages between the right and the wrong. In- 
dividuals from all classes apply for admission and it 
requires a clear, sharp eye of discernment to decide 
whom to accept and whom to reject. The past season, 
we were beset by swarms of people, not all applicants, 
the most were highly intelligent travelers or boarders 
from Pittsfield, Lenox, Stockbridge, and other places. 
Many wanted a good dinner, which we gave them with 
charge — a vegetarian dinner. A man and his wife stayed 
with us over night, who were well acquainted all around 
Little Silver, Rumsom Road, the old White Place, Dr. 
Parmley's Place, the Hance's, etc. They said the old 
windmill was still standing by Shrewsbury River. To 
tell the truth, I would like once more this side of life 
to set eyes on the dear old homestead where we spent 
our childhood days. 



66 



Eldress Anna White. 



"My work is at present arduous and continuous, and 
as duty before pleasure has always been my motto, af- 
fording greater satisfaction, I cheerfully resign the les- 
ser for the greater. The season thus far has been all 
that w r e could ask. Autumn was beautiful, and now, 
the winter reigns just as it should with snow and ice 
and biting cold as a tonic. This morning, as the sun 
rose over the eastern hills, what a sight met the gaze! 
Trees, clear to their tip-tops, were bespangled with dia- 
monds and jewels; the smallest twig glistened with the 
work of the frost king. It was one vast scene of beauty, 
which no earthly artist could dare imitate. Sleighing is 
magnificent. We are having a new State Road built 
through the village and farther on, which will greatly 
facilitate travel. The ice harvest is approaching and soon 
our empty ice-houses will be filled. I anticipate hearing 
from thee by the 21st sure. If thee is able to write but 
a line, it w T ill be appreciated by thy younger sister. The 
looking-glass reminds me of our mother, as a shadow of 
myself appears, so much so I am startled. Silvery hair 
predominates, my weight is good, 128 probably. I have 
all my front teeth, seven upper and seven lower, am as 
spry as ever on foot and withal I am ready to enter 
the next century with steady head, with upright form 
and I hope with a clear conscience/' 

How clearly memory recalls her, as she met the in- * 
coming centurj^, — her delicate figure, slightly stooping, 
tripping steps that darted up and down the stairways 
and flitted like a bird about the paths, ner finely-shaped, 
well-poised head, broad forehead, well-rounded curves of 
intellectual and spiritual faculties, her strong, expressive 
face, her clear, blue eyes, that looked the soul through, 
melting in sympathy, glowing with lofty thought and 
earnest purpose, at times laughing like a child's, her 
(delicate hand, firm, strong, sensitive, soft as a rose 




IN MEDITATION. 



Labors for Young Believers. 



67 



petal. A little boy, who spent the summer weeks under 
her care, in whom the big man was sometimes too ram- 
pant, loved to feel the touch of her hand. "Gee!" he 
would say, "doesn't her hand feel soft on a fellow's 
head !" 

Sometimes, meeting one of the new adherents, whom 
she was carefully studying, with magnetic finger-tips she 
would playfully drum upon the breast, "to find out what 
is inside/' she would say, as if her fingers, like her 
spirit touch, could, witch-hazel fashion, find the respon- 
sive current beneath the surface. Several in mature life 
had entered the family, for whose planting in the gospel 
she felt great concern. She saw in their turning to Snak- 
erism, the fulfillment of her eager hopes, fruitage of the 
long seed-sowing, first ripples from the vibrating human 
sea, responding to the law of tidal influx. She was 
most desirous that the true gift of God might be im- 
planted, the sure founding upon the rock of truth secured. 
Tirelessly she labored, rejoicing over each new sign of 
responsive life, grieving over every lapse and fearlessly 
true in her unfolding and smiting of hidden evil, which 
threatened to destroy the young plants in her spiritual 
garden. 

While she accepted gratefully the gift of manual labor, 
El dress Anna had little sympathy with the narro w in- 
terpretation of personal consecration, which would 
count the hands holy but not the head, bless faithful ser- 
vice in kitchen, laundry and sewing-shop, but see no 
place for natural or cultivated talents in music, art, or 
literature. The higher the powers, the deeper should 
be the consecration, and the more imperative the need 
of employment in the House of God. During the years, 
a more abundant literature had been gathered, a well- 
selected library, carefully watched and judiciously en- 
larged. Musical instruments had been added and op- 
portunity for study and practice provided. The care- 



Eldress Anna White. 



ful development of literary ability had been for many 
years part of her labor for others as well as herself. 
To one, in whom the reformer's impulse was strong, 
she procured an open door to many outside movements 
and a home secretaryship in humanitarian causes, lead- 
ing to still more active measures in varied lines of work. 
In consequence of the union with French women in the 
Dreyfus affair, and as a result of her obtaining more 
signatures than any other woman in the State of New 
York to the petition for international disarmament, she 
had been appointed Vice-President for that State in the 
Woman's International League for Peace and Arbitra- 
tion. To this post with its incumbent duty., she was faith- 
ful. One, who was fond of her lifelong work of teach- 
ing, she placed over a school, first, the public school of 
the district, then, after some years, a private school for 
the girls and young sisters. When literary ability was 
found, it was promptly put to use. Executive or house- 
hold ability, or skill in any other line, was equally valued 
and equally employed. To the publishing of a book of 
poems by a talented sister among the recent members 
she gave attention and sympathetic aid. To full conse- 
cration and devoted, faithful service and loyalty, she 
inspired all by her own spirit and daily life as well as 
by her teaching and public testimony. 

Industrial problems received careful study. Shirt- 
making had long been given up as not sufficiently re- 
munerative. Increasing interest in the home life of 
Shakers, manifested by throngs of people from neigh- 
boring summer resorts, was met in a kindly spirit. In- 
stead of turning away these somewhat troublesome guests 
as intruders, the doors were courteously thrown open. 
The life of the Shaker home, its inner meaning, its out- 
ward expression, was revealed. Visitors were conducted 
over the premises, the various mechanical and labor- 
saving devices were explained, kitchen, dining-room, 



Her Work in Authorship. 



60 



meeting-room, library, one or two living-rooms, work- 
shops, laundry, dairy, and other places of interest were 

shown and the many questions of curiosity, or deeper 
and more serious import, were answered by intelligent, 
spiritual-minded guides. Many sincere friendships were 
thus established, spiritual light and noble impulses were 
imparted and valuable returns were made to the self- 
sacriflcing} spirit of the home. Vegetarian dinners were 
remunerative, and a shop for the sale of fancy goods, 
antiques, confectionery, honey and other home products, 
grew from small beginnings to an important industrial 
center. 



IX 

BOOKS and leaflets by Eldress Anna have had 
wide circulation. A work to which she devoted 
much time and effort, was "Original Shaker 
Music." The first volume was published in 1884, 
the second appeared in 1893. She wanted an appropriate 
motto for the title-page of the new hymnal, and one 
morning awakened repeating verses, which she vainly 
tried to locate. Appealing to her associate, Sister Martha 
Anderson, as more conversant with poets and poetry 
than herself, she asked, "Who wrote these lines?" "Who 
wrote them?" was the reply. "Why, I don't know, I 
never heard them before. I guess they are your own.' 1 
She took the lines as a gift for the new volume, on 
whose title-page they stand. 



"Man is a harp of a thousand strings, 
Touch the spiritual chord of his heart, 

And lo! with what inspiration he sings, 
Unaided by science, unskilled in art; 

'Tis the voice of God in his soul that* sings, 



70 



Eldress Anna White. 



And is more than a harp of a thousand strings." 

In 1896, appeared "Mount Lebanon Cedar Boughs, 
Original Poems by the North Family Shakers," bearing 
upon its every page the impress of her mind. 

"Voices from Mount Lebanon" was read at a confer- 
ence of the Universal Peace Union, in 1899, and called 
forth from Ernest H. Crosby the wish that "Voices from 
Mount Lebanon were heard oftener by the people." 

"The Motherhood of God," "Concise Statements" and 
its reprint, "Present Day Shakerism," are highly valued, 
while numerous smaller leaflets give her vigorous, pro- 
phetic thought on many themes. In 1901, she started on 
a project, long contemplated, of writing a history of 
Shakerism mere comprehensive than any hitherto written 
and brought down to date. The work of reading, note- 
gathering, composing and transcribing was done by an- 
other; the inspiration, direction, weighing of evidence 
and final judgment were her own. For three years the 
work went on, and when completed, ready for submis- 
sion to a trusted critic, she was not satisfied. The ideals 
of Shakerism, its meaning and message, had been set 
forth, but something was wanting. The whole truth 
had not been told. The cause of its temporary failures 
had not been portrayed. She seized the pen and in a 
trenchant, tender but terrible indictment, declared the 
tale of unfaithfulness, blight, mistake and wrong. These 
passages, the strongest in the book, embodied in its 
last chapter, can be readily recognized. The book was 
published in 1904, the proof-reading, advertising and pre- 
senting to the public being carried on largely hy her own 
hand. 

Among her most attractive writings, are memorial 
sketches. "A King's Daughter," the memorial to Sister 
Polly Lewis, is a beautiful bit of hand painting. Another 
is dedicated to Sister Mary Hazard. The volume in- 
scribed to Eldress Antoinette Doolittle is gracefully writ- 



Her Gifts of Song. 



ten and the gathered flowers of memory tastefully ar- 
ranged. In December, 1890, Elder Giles Bushnell Avery, 
of the Central Ministry, a beloved and inspired leader, 
entered the higher life. Eldress Anna prepared a tribute 
in the form of al pamphlet entitled "Translated," whose 
pages, worthy of their theme, deserve a better setting. 
"Immortalized" was her own favorite and "Only Arisen," 
most tender and touching of all, a white flower of 
memory laid sacredly aside, was rarely named. 

Eldress Anna's gifts of song are a remarkable record 
in spiritual phonography. Heaven was often opened to 
her outer sense. One July day, when picking berries 
upon the mountain, she heard shouts of joy and singing, 
as of angelic choirs, in the air about her, and she joined 
in the song. On her return, word came that Elder 
Thomas Damon, a beloved brother in Hancock, had gone 
with the angels at the time when, on the mountain, know- 
ing nothing of what was transpiring several miles away, 
her quick spiritual ear had caught the song, "A Shout 
of Triumph." 

One night, she dreamed of seeing a woman, in dark 
and dangerous paths, weeping, and an angel bending over 
her, pointing upward to a bright light. Thus came the 
song, "I'll tell thee of Heaven, O child of earth." 

One busy day, she heard the chiming of bells and 
asked, "Is there a service in the Valley? I hear the 
bells ringing." Finding them inaudible to others, she 
recognized the presence of spirit forces and gathered 
the song, "The Bells of Heaven are Ringing," with its 
graceful motions and inspiring message. 

Early one morning, after a night of pain, her little 
fingers were raised, beating a rhythmic measure, and soon 
she began to sing, 

"Falling, falling, like the fleecy snowflakes, 
Dropping, dropping, like the gentle rain, 



?2 Eldress Anna White. 

So doth the Spirit minister to mortals, 
Bringing relief from sorrow and pain." 

During recovery, waiting one bright morning for her 
breakfast to be served, she saw bright forms dancing 
on the snow-covered hillside, and a tall, white figure com- 
ing towards her, and began to sing, 

"I hear the sound of thy coming." 

SHtting in Elder Daniel Offord's room, thinking of 
his self-sacrificing life of toil and devoted service, as 
she arose to return to her own apartment, on the 
threshold, she began to sing, 

"Health and strength I bring unto thee, 
Beautiful child of Mother." 

She called it Elder Daniel's song and often sang it 
to him. 

A sister in the Church Family passed suddenly away, 
child of that Sister Eunice, so deeply mourned in her 
early life in the family, and, unable to attend the funeral 
service, as she \zy on the couch in her sewing-shop, unit- 
ing in spirit, she heard the singing of a spirit band and 
joined in their triumphant strain, 

"Sing, sing with the ransomed number." 

Greatly interested in the work of many allied forces in 
the outer world, Whose efforts for righteousness and 
human redemption she recognized as at one with those 
of Believers, she wrote the beautiful hymn, "The 
Saviour's Command." Her heart was saddened by con- 
ditions in society, and, unable to bear her testimony 
as of old, her spirit strove in its secret hiding-place for 



"More Shakers in the World Than Ever Before," 73 

a baptism of purity and power, and out of this travail 
hour came the song which bears her parting gift to the 
people whom she was soon to leave, 

"The winds of God are blowing, the tide is setting in. ,, 

That the depleted condition of the Shaker families and 
the increasing burdens pressing upon the faithful rem- 
nant, weighed heavily upon the heart of Eldress Anna 
White, need not be said. Yet, her buoyancy of spirit 
was unfaltering, her faith in the final outcome, the per- 
manence of the principles of Shakerism, the sure word 
of prophecy, whose fulfillment she traced in the history 
of Society, the unfulfilled promise of a new day, a new 
people and a new opening of the old gospel, — this abiding 
faith never failed. "There are more Shakers in the 
world to-day, than ever before," was her oft-repeated 
declaration. The world was vibrant with grand mes- 
sages of truth, the teachings of Shakerism, and, the 
world over, she saw their import seized, their substance 
embodied and their life-giving power manifested. 

"Be not dismayed nor disheartened," was her testi- 
mony, "that one after another, from our societies are 
being gathered of our best, our truest and our most effi- 
cient members. The new day of the Gospel, long fore- 
told, is drawing near. An inner circle of those nearest 
to us, knowing best our needs and hence best able to 
minister to us, are being gathered on the spirit side. 
Through them will come the tides of power, the gifts 
of light, strength and life, long concentrated, by and 
in which we are to arise and minister Truth and Life. 
Verily, a spiritual tide is setting in upon) the shores of 
humanity, from the ocean of God. Let us meet its, com- 
ing! In the light and knowledge of this century, we 
have a brighter, clearer evangel than had William Lee 
and James Whittaker, Joseph Meacham and Lucy Wright. 



74 



Eldress Anna White. 



Let us arise and live, and proclaim the grand truths of 
God in Shakerism, not in the dress they wore 100 years 
ago, but as the noble, enlightened spirits of to-day now 
inspire us. Never have souls, hungering and thirsting 
for spiritual truth, gathered to us as now. Let us arise 
to our calling! Then will Shakerism live, blending, as it 
never could in the past, with the quickening life of the 
Spirit in the outer world, — a true center of spiritual 
life." 

Many projects were advanced by outside friends, who 
desired to see Shaker homes built up in strength and 
membership, and who felt that a path thereto might lie 
along the road of opportunity to some of the many noble 
enterprises of the day. One was to open a home for 
little children, aiming not only to relieve the stress among 
city workers for that class, but to prepare the way 
for such children to become useful men and women and 
recruits for Shakerism. Eldress Anna, open in her 
philanthropic heart to every good cause, never lost sight 
of the fact that the work in her hands was not insti- 
tutional, for the relief of the suffering bodies or starved 
minds of the many, but spiritual, for the evolution of men 
and women, those who had come to a point in spiritual 
development where they were ready, ripened, for the 
death of the natural and carnal, and the divine implant- 
ing of the spiritual life, to be nourished and brought 
to full harvest through the teaching and ministration of 
those called to that work. Very few, even of the most 
enlightened among her friends and outside helpers, could 
see this or realize her point of view, — the specialized work 
of Shakerism. It was not easy to refuse, apparently to 
be unwilling to assist in the so-called plain duty of hu- 
manity to its suffering brothers and sisters. But the 
same clear vision and strong purpose that in youth en- 
abled her to distinguish the different planes of allied 
faiths and to hold to her purpose in despite of natural 
affection, opiposition and persecution, was stronger still 



"Shaker Sisters Have Greater Rights." 75 



in maturity, and held her to her conviction that she had 
no right nor authority to use the Shaker homes and the 
spiritual plant, established by generations of faithful 
toilers, for any other purpose than that for which, under 
divine direction, they had been given. , 

Of the responsibilities and capabilities of sisters, in the 
crisis time of Shaker history, she wrote: 

"You ask what then, when the few worthy brethren 
pass off the stage of action, will the sisters be able to 
hold the fort and bring the condition of the home to a 
successful standing? That, too, is a problem, and still, 
as I think of it, why not? Women are making rapid 
and successful strides in every department that has 
hitherto been under man's control, and I am sure, when 
we look at the history of Believers, it has been the man 
and not the woman, as a general thing, who has taken 
advantage of the trust reposed in him and turned 
traitor to the cause, especially when entrusted with 
financial matters. 

"Why not sisters? We have brains, reason, knowledge, 
and with combined energy would know how to apply it, 
adjust present conditions and further future conditions, 
to the satisfaction of ourselves and society. As women 
outside are asserting their right to life, liberty and the 
pursuit of happiness, and upon all economical, social and 
political questions are evincing remarkable ability and 
skill, and as the rights of every human being are identi- 
cal, then have not we Shaker sisters greater rights than 
all others, having absolute right of our own bodies, which, 
in reality includes all other rights? It is my firm belief 
that had sisters continued to hold the balance of pwe? 
in their own hands, as in Mother Lucy Wright's day, all 
the dire financial calamities might have been averted. 
There is where we need to return to the way-marks, at 
least, such is my humble opinion." 

To a friend of her girlhood, a sister beloved for many 
years, she writes: 



;6 



Eldress Anna White. 



"Why is it that my thoughts take wing and fly away 
over mountain and valley, upon the blustering, rollicking 
March winds to Canterbury? Reaching that blest abode, 
either the winds subside or a stronger magnet than they 
stops my flight, my wings lower and I go no farther. 
I have thought of you, precious sister, so much of late. 
Why, do you ask? Just for love's sake, love, the best 
gift God ever bestowed upon her creature, woman. It 
was the her in Deity that drew us together, the great 
Maternal soul in your Eldress. You know Eldress An- 
toinette was my Savior. No greater proof do I need of 
the Divine Infinite Mother than is manifested in earthly 
vessels — our spiritual Mothers in the gospel of Mother. 
It comes to me that we are fast wending our way back 
towards the ancient way-marks from which we never 
ought to have strayed. Had sisters kept the helm as did 
Mother Ann and Mother Lucy, and been the directors 
in temporal and spiritual things, of course taking coun- 
sel of the brethren, a prosperity would have attended 
where now devastation and desolation exist. History is 
ever repeating itself, and the history of our Order when 
repeated will find woman in her appointed place in the 
kingdom, as was first designed, though it come in an 
abnormal way, through force of circumstances. It needs 
not a prophet's eye to peer into the future to see the 
coming change." 

Eldress Anna was active in reform movements, a mem- 
ber of the National American Woman Suffrage Associa- 
tion, and Vice-President of the National Council of 
Women, the North Family, under her leadership, for 
several years, forming a branch organization of that 
progressive body. 

On the 31st of August, 1906, in the old Shaker meet- 
ing-house at Mount Lebanon, was held a Peace Confer- 
ence, addresses being made by a large number of speakers 
of national repute. No more absorbing moment in the 



She Addresses the Peace Conference. 77 



day occurred than when Eldress Anna White stood up 
at the opening of the afternoon session and, in a clear, 
resonant voice, whose accents reached every corner of 
the roomy structure, read her address. 

"Friends and Co-Laborers, 
"From far and near, known and unknown, we make 
you welcome to this rich feast of intellectual and spir- 
itual thought. You have responded nobly to our call, 
a call that arises from a necessity, a call that is being 
heard increasingly in the earth, even as the rolling thun- 
der in these mountain lands increases in volume, as it 
resounds from valley to hilltop, and echoes from moun- 
tain to mountain. You may think, that, cloistered as we 
are from the outside world, pursuing the even tenor of 
our ways, the larger affairs of; life, those pertaining to 
country and nation and not directly affecting us, would 
not enlist our sympathy nor engage our attention. It 
is far otherwise. No citizen is more thoroughly alive to 
the interests of state or nation, than are the Shakers. 
In the Peace of the nation is our Peace. The 
cause of Peace is our cause; its .friends are 
our friends, and the opponents of Universal Peace (of 
course, none such are here to-day) are our particular 
friends, for they, above all others, stand in need of friends. 
In one respect, we stand alone. We are known as the 
Virgin Church, the only one in existence whose mem- 
bers, one and all, are called to a life of chastity and 
non-resistance. Freely granting that other branches of the 
Church Universal, our co-laborers in the cause of Right, 
may, after the law of Moses, marry and be given in mar- 
riage, — the Voice that called the founders of this order 
and that has called each one of us, made vital the com- 
mand, 'First pure, then peaceable/ And in our commun- 
istic life, we have found this, our interpretation of purity, 
the essential to justice and peace. 

"Peace-makers that we have been for 131 years, and 



78 



Eldress Anna White. 



to-day holding strictly to these important principles, we 
claim that no other people on the face of the globe know 
what it is to meet the warring, dashing elements in human 
nature, and to overcome them, as it is given us to know. 
Talk about war ! You may take a thousand cities more 
easily than rule the wild, turbulent passions inherent in 
the human breast. Warriors may boast of their achieve- 
ments on sea and land, but no warrior ever brought home 
laurels of greater worth than they who, by self-conquest, 
have won in the battle of truth over error and right 
over wrong. 

"While in this our personal, spiritual warfare, we know 
of no surrender, we feel to-day a call to a larger battle 
than our fathers fought. Silent and unseen, these cur- 
rents of justice, peace and purity, have been coursing 
through the earth. To-day, small in numbers though we 
are, we feel moved, like the prophets of old time, to call 
aloud unto the nations and bid them cease their strife. 

"In this movement in favor of international peace and 
arbitration, we are inspired to meet responses from lead- 
ing minds, noble men and women, who can do better 
work than can we in arousing the nations to their duty. 
A powerful host in the spirit world is at our side, un- 
seen hands are at the helm. We have but to work in 
accord with them and success in the end is sure. Here, 
in this old meeting-house, whose every nail and timber 
were placed by consecrated hands, four score years ago, 
where in worship, after the true Shaker style, body, soul 
and spirit were given up to the movings of the Spirit 
of God, these workers and saints of the past gather 
to-day and are uplifted, even as we are lifted up, by the 
helpers they see about us. We have solved many a 
knotty problem by the aid of unseen powers, and to-day, 
we lift hearts and voices in united supplication, that the 
solution! of this great question of peace and arbitration, 
which has drawn us together, may be found, be accepted 



Interview with President Roosevelt. 79 

by the nations, and Peace and Harmony may become the 
natural element of our life upon the earth. In the name 
of this Almighty Spirit of Peace, I bid you welcome, and 
may the wisdom that is from above rule our counsels 
and bring fruition to our hopes!" 

In November, Eldress Anna, accompanied by Sister 
Sarah Burger, in a personal interview, presented to Presi- 
dent Roosevelt the Resolutions adopted at the Shaker 
Peace Conference and asked for them his sanction and 
support. The interview was unique, as the two strong 
characters met face to face. In that most virile and 
forceful of men, that most spiritually forceful of women, 
was a subtle quality in common. Eldress Anna, who 
found him "a much better looking man than I had ex- 
pected/' said, "We greatly appreciate this opportunity. We 
have come a long distance, and we would have come a 
much longer distance to speak with the leading ruler 
of the world to-day on the subject of Peace." Refer- 
ring to their consistent Peace platform for over 130 
years, the Shaker Order being coeval with the Republic, 
and having never taken part in political or party strife, 
Eldress Anna affirmed that the Shakers had been among 
the best citizens the Republic had ever had. She spoke 
of the noble language of his recent Thanksgiving Day 
Proclamation, which she regarded as "sound Shaker doc- 
trine." The President gracefully acknowledged this trib- 
ute. His eyes never wavered from the face of this Shaker 
Eldress of seventy-five years, nor did her gaze flinch from 
his steady, piercing look. Ifc was, as some one quaintly 
said, "Turk meet Turk." 

Taking the resolutions which were presented, the Presi- 
dent quickly absorbed their contents, asking if they 
wished him to reply now. "We will await your time. If 
it is your pleasure to answer them now, it will give us 
pleasure to listen," was her reply. Thereupon, the Presi- 
dent said: — 



So 



Eldress Anna White. 



"I cordially agree with the spirit of the resolutions, 
but do not believe that disarmament under the existing 
circumstances of the intercourse among nations is prac- 
ticable, although I favor very strongly enlarging and 
amplifying the powers and jurisdiction of the Hague 
Court of Arbitration, in reference to the submission of 
questions to that tribunal for decision. I feel that it is 
more important to eliminate the causes of war than to 
diminish the existing armies and navies of the different 
nations. I consider that it is better that a nation should 
engage in w T ar than to submit to injustice and imposi- 
tion of wrong upon national honor and interests. Jus- 
tice before peace! My general sentiments are strongly 
in favor of the spirit and purpose of the resolutions 
adopted last August, and I am much obliged to the Sis- 
ters for traveling such a distance in this weather, to 
present them for my consideration." 

One of a group of Paulist Fathers, awaiting their turn, 
now arose and greeted Eldress Anna — "I must thank you," 
he said, "for your excellent address/' The President, 
laying a hand affectionately upon his shoulder, intro- 
duced him as the Rev. Father Dole, who had stood firmly 
by him in his work as Police Commissioner in New 
York City. Friends of Eldress Anna will appreciate 
her perfectly natural manner of plucking the President's 
sleeve, as he turned away, saying, "We want to see 
Mrs, Roosevelt; can we see her?" "I'll see, I'll see," was 
the quick reply. "By George. I'll risk it. Come at 2 
o'clock. Good-bye \" 

The resolutions were left in the hands of a committee, 
and were afterward incorporated in the work of the 
Hague Tribunal. This visit to Washington held many 
things of interest, among them a dinner at Castle Hen- 
derson, the residence of ex-Senator John B. and Mary 
Foote Henderson, where the Shaker Sisters met several 
distinguished public men interested in the Peace Move- 
ment. 



Letter to Mary Baker Eddy. Si 
X 

DURING a severe illness, Eldress Anna was 
brought into connection with Christian Science, 
The story is told in the "Christian Science 
Journal," for December, 1907, and need not be 
repeated, save that she was raised from what was pro- 
nounced by a wise and skillful physician to be her death- 
bed, through the ministrations of Christian Science prac- 
titioners. Naturally, Christian Science became a study, in 
which she found the fundamental truths and principles 
already the basis of her long and fruitful spiritual travel. 
The law of spiritual healing was clearly and logically 
stated, but the foundation was the same as that revealed 
tdj the spiritually illumined Ann Lee and her immediate 
followers, particularly, the organizers, Joseph Meacham 
and Lucy Wright. In familiar instances of healing under 
the spiritual gifts of Shaker leaders, she read the intui- 
tive application of the law so forcibly expounded by 
Mary Baker Eddy. That law, unfailing in its action, 
when all conditions are fulfilled, the people of Ann Lee's 
day were not prepared to read, much less to formulate. 
In a letter to Mrs. Eddy, she said : 

"Ever since my remarkable yet divinely natural re- 
covery, through the power of Divine Love, as demon- 
strated through Christian Science treatment, my hitherto 
spiritual faith and practical experience of Divine Heal- 
ing has been quickened by a new electrical spark irorn 
the altar of Divine Inspiration, as manifested through 
Christian Science. 

"We of the North Family of Shakers, with many 
others throughout our Order, recognize in your teach- 
ing the scientific statement and fresh inspiration in the 
revelation of the truths inherent in our faith, promul- 
gated, for her day and time, and practiced to a surpris- 
ing fulness, by our revered Mother, Ann Lee. This 



82 



Eldress Anna White. 



enables us more rapidly to lay hold of the truth and 
appreciate its beauty and power. 

"You are one of those who have come up out of great 
tribulation, and the whole wide world owes you a tribute 
of respect, of veneration and of love, for the self-sacri- 
ficing spirit you have manifested for the good of human- 
ity. I would add to the many testimonials, my word of 
gratitude and loving appreciation. God bless and keep 
you in the hollow of His Hand, is the earnest prayer of 

"Your Shaker friend, Anna White." 

A return gift from out the years came one August 
day, when, in a somewhat confused message over the 
'phone, was heard the name of Hanna Baker and the 
fact that some one would soon be at the railroad station. 
A team was despatched and in due time a sunny- faced 
friend appeared, who announced herself "one of Hanna 
Baker's girls," and said that Hanna herself was only 
a few miles away. At once, a peremptory summons was 
sent over the wires,— "To Hanna Baker, Come to Mount 
Lebanon at once. Anna White." At sunset, standing 
in the house-door, with her rare, sweet smile, her face 
alight with expectant love, she greeted a tall, noble- 
looking woman, who same swiftly up the walk, "Is this 
my little girl?" Last seen when parted from at four 
years of age, the never forgotten child of her best-loved 
sister Phebe was clasped in her arms. The years had 
dealt graciously. A graduate of Bellevue, for many years 
the Head of a Training School for nurses, she had gath- 
ered about flier hundreds of young women, to whom she 
had been teacher, friend and guide, and in her own life- 
path had traveled side by side in spiritual unfoldment 
and soul activities, with her beloved Aunt Anna. Hence- 
forth, her visits were the joy of every summer, their lov- 
ing talks, like their letters, always in the sweet "simple 
language" of the early Quaker home. Once, Hanna wrote, 
"This letter is enclosing the little poem written many 



Memories of Her Sister Phebe. &$ 



years ago and which, because it touched hearts, I sup- 
pose, was quite widely copied in some of the papers. 
Thee will care for it, I am sure. Our dear Mother was 
so bright, so full of affection, so helpful to everyone 
who came in her way, I saw an expression of hers many 
times in thy face, Aunt Anna dear. I am glad that com- 
ing to thee after such a long absence, I could carry 
to thee, in my heart and face, something of my dear 
Mother's spirit." 

"MOTHER'S WAY. 

"Oft within our little cottage, 

As the shadows gently fall, 
While the sunlight touches softly 
One sweet face upon the wall, 
As we gather close together, 

And in hushed and tender tone, 
Ask each other's full forgiveness 

For the wrong that each has done; 
Should you wonder why this custom 

At the ending of the day, 
Eye and voice would quickly answer: 
Tt was once our Mother's way.' 

"If our home be bright and cheery, 

If it hold a welcome true, 
Opening wide its door of greeting 

To the many, not the few; 
If we share our Father's bounty 

With the needy, day by day, 
'Tis because our hearts remember, 

This was ever Mother's way. 

"Sometimes, when our hands grow weary, 

Or our tasks seem very long, 
When our burdens look too heavy, 



94 



Eldress Anna White. 



And we deem the right all wrong, 
Then we gain a new, fresh courage, 

As we rise, to proudly say: 
'Let us do our duty bravely, 

This was our dear Mother's way.' 

"Thus we keep her memory precious, 

While we never cease to pray, 
That at last, when lengthening shadows 

Mark the evening of life's day, 
They may find us waiting calmly, 
To go home our Mother's way." 

— By Hanna Baker. 

One, who had been separated from the home for a 
period of years, had found her way back for an annual 
visit and one of her best treats was to carry off "the little 
Mother" for a visit to Old Ocean, at Asbury Park, this 
city by the sea being in the immediate vicinity of Eldress 
Anna's childhood home. One day, her old playmate, Eric 
Parmley, called upon her and took her to ride, as in the 
days of the pony and donkey cart of long ago. The same 
genial, kindly spirit was manifest in the gray-haired 
physician as in the little playmate of sixty years before, 
and the scenes of their childhood were re-visited, greatly 
to her delight. The same quiet tide-river, the wind-mill, 
the fences and meadows were all there, and the same 
blue, dancing waves and gray Atlantic wastes. But the 
feeble .frame was no longer able to enjoy plunges into 
the white-crested billows, although the salt sea breezes 
brought their cheering, strengthening influence. 

With the sunset years came increasing tenderness and 
ever more frequent expressions of motherliness. In 
meeting, she was quick to respond to testimony or effort, 
especially from the younger or less experienced Believers. 
She entered into the spirit and feelings of all, even the 



Her Mother-Heart, the Center. 



Is 



tastes and wishes of the children receiving her careful 
attention. Very little escaped her notice. Going or com- 
ing through the house-door, at the click of the gate- 
latch, her bright, interested face would be seen at the 
window. Starting for a ramble, a glance upward would 
show her faithful eyes following, while a sympathetic 
wave of the hand and her smile, "the sweetest smile hu- 
man face ever wore," threw all good fortune and bless- 
ing on the path. One writes of "Her watchful care, when 
any one went away from home, her motherly thought of 
every need, if any lack for comfort or comeliness, how 
quick to provide for the need from the best of her own 
personal supplies ! Always present to give the parting 
word of affection and Godspeed, and, on the return, the 
welcome greeting, no matter how late the hour or how 
full had been the day. Others might be preparing the 
abundant meal, the comfortable room or the song of wel- 
come, but always the mother-heart, as the center of union, 
most of all contributed the feeling of true home-coming. 
So kindly faithful was she, also, in writing to absent 
members, often rising very early for that purpose, — in- 
terweaving expressions of affection and soulful thought 
with such items of home-life as would keep the absent 
one pleasantly in touch with all its interests, without the 
feeling that any one would curtail the pleasure or the 
restfulness of the vacation. In these and countless other 
ways, she did so much to change what otherwise might 
have been the tendency to a cold, rigid discipline of in- 
stitutional life into the warm, genial and attractive at- 
mosphere of a true home." 

Often, while she had strength to do so, she would 
wander out in the nearby fields, enjoying the outing as 
intensely as once she would have done a much more 
extended excursion. One summer, when the home pickers 
reported the mountain blue with berries, she had just 
begun to get about after a serious illness. The day of 



So 



Eldress Anna White, 



a berry party, she planned to accompany them, kept very 
still about her plans, and, when the party were nearly 
all seated, with her one confederate on the alert, she 
quickly skipped out the door, darted into the wagon and 
calling, ''Good-bye V s to the amazed lookers-on, drove 
oft triumphant. How she enjoyed that day on the moun- 
tain ! The wagon taking her up as far as possible, the 
strong arm of her attendant and the glad, loving hearts 
of her companions making smooth all the rough places, 
the long, bright hours, the wide, familiar views and the 
inner scenes of happy memories ! 

"In all my fifty-six years at Mount Lebanon, I never 
saw so wonderful a season V she exclaimed, after spend- 
ing an October afternoon in 1905, above the ravine, a 
favorite woodland haunt. The light on the hills, she 
compared to the Revelators vision, and the glory was 
repeated in every nearby bush, aster, or whitened spray 
of golden-rod. Leaning on her companion's shoulder, 
she dropped into a light slumber, then awakened to revel 
in the sights and sounds of these hillside, woodside places, 
known and loved for over half a century, and to sing, 
one after another, sweet old songs, to whose inspiration 
these scenes had given form. 

"Oh the Beautiful Hills, where the Blest have trod," 
she loved to sing when out in sight of the hills. To both, 
it was a day of vision, like that in Patmos, earth be- 
came one with heaven, past toil and future triumph 
blended, while the feet of many an unseen but not unfelt 
spirit comrade pressed the soft grass at her side. 

Across the way from where she spent so many busy 
hours at her desk, on the edge of the wood planted by 
Elder Frederick, grew a hedge of golden-rod. Good 
Brother Levi, neat and careful, was seen one morning 
with his scythe busily mowing them down. Up went 
her window, and, with a cheery greeting and a word 
of approval for his gift of neatness and order, she begged 



Favorite Poems and Hymns, 87 

that the part of the hedge, opposite her) window, might 
be spared. She loved to look at them, they reminded her 
of dear Sister Miartha, who so loved them and had writ- 
ten a beautiful poem about the golden-rod. With an 
indulgent smile, the white-haired brother stayed his hand, 
shouldered his scythe, and the golden-crested flowers 
lived on, bearing their sunny message to her, year by year. 
On her last summer, she one day spoke to a friend, the 
beloved "Sister Annie," of many summer sojourns, of 
the beauty of that wooded hillside, its lights and shadows 
the deep, dark caves in its dense foliage, and the brighl 
flowers along the fence, and recited a little poem lately 
learned, about the golden-rod, 

"Bright afterthought of summer, 
Flame of the golden noon." 

Her memory held many a poetic gem and, even in her 
80th year, she easily committed many a poetic passage. 
Whittier was a great favorite, Father Ryan was another. 
A poem entitled "Watch" was often upon her lips, and 
she would hand out its type-written lines to friends, who 
listened to her recital with deep feeling. Her peculiar 
gift of recitation, of a deep spiritual rendering of poetic 
utterances that appealed to her thought or feeling, has 
opened a new world of vision to many a listener, in lines 
long familiar. She loved certain hymns. "My latest sun 
is sinking fast," "(Nearer My God to Thee," "Come ye 
sinners, poor and needy," "Jesus, Lover of my soul," 
and "Bringing in the Sheaves," which she first heard 
from the lips of Estelle Hutchinson, were favorites, and 
she loved to sing them in the twilight, or to hear them 
sung by the young voices that often sang for her. 

She often repeated Sydney Lanier's exquisite "Into the 
woods my Master went," as expressive of her own feel- 
ing in the spirit ministration of the woods. Her love of 
flowers was remembered by her many friends, the chil- 
dren bringing her the first bright blossoms of the spring 



86 



Eldress Anna White. 



and their floral offerings at all seasons. A certain rose 
path, the care and pride of one of the sisters, always 
held for her its first bloom and its last. The last autumn 
of her stay, it gave her a rose on the very verge of No- 
vember, and the year after her passing from sight, its 
blooms were placed daily at her seat at the table, "for 
Eldress Anna.'' 

At the coming of the summer of 1909. her companion 
of sixty years. Sister Eliza Rayson, upon whose tried 
goodness and mighty faith she leaned, suddenly left 
her. On the Saturday evening, before her brief illness, 
as she came down stairs, herself quite lame. Eldress Anna 
was sitting on the sofa in the hall, before going into 
family meeting. Sister Eliza gave one of her sweet smiles 
and said, in passing. "Be strong. Eldress Anna, be strong !" 
These words were often repeated and were the key-note 
of all her songs of faith and brave endurance in the year 
and a half that Eldress Anna remained. In the long 
winter passed in her room with its eastern windows, the 
wonder grew whether she felt shut in by the tree-clad 
hill, or if the bare trees seemed dreary. As if she felt 
the thought, she one day remarked. — "I am so glad I live 
on this side of the house. I have to look up. If I looked 
out over the valley, I might be drawn to look down to 
earth in my feelings, but here, my thought is always 
lifted up." 

"The embodiment of sunshine, sitting in the sun. — thus 
we shall always think of her, M remarked Sister Cecelia 
DeVere. a few days before she herself followed her be- 
loved Eldress. Her bright, strong intellect, vigorous to 
the last, her grasp of detail, her illumined vision, made 
of the room where she sat enthroned in the love of 
family and friends, a council chamber, whither came bur- 
den-bearers from many places, seeking her wisdom and 
spiritual insight. Children, kneeling at her feet, received 
her motherly blessing. She had always felt her home to 



<f O Sing of the Beautiful Hills." 89 



be the kingdom of heaven upon earth, and she noted 
and cared for its common blessings, when pain and weak- 
ness had made of life a patient overcoming, a silent 
battle within the soul, whose echoes were heard in songs 
of unfaltering faith and words of good cheer. One morn- 
ing, she wrote to her niece, — 

"This bright, glorious morning, induced me to do 
something more than sit in easy chair with folded hands, 
enjoying nature's bounty to the full, without in some 
way partaking with others of the rich feast. Imagine 
the grand old mountains, towering high in the distance, 
covered with a verdant green carpet, and nearer by, with 
groves of maple and locust, birch, etc., and cultivated 
fields of corn, rye, oats, buckwheat. Does it not inspire 
one to sing of the Beautiful Hills that rise on the ever- 
green shore? O sing of the beautiful hills, where the 
weary shall toil no- more? 

"Nearer by are the gardens, with straight long rows of 
growing vegetables, — peas as sweet as sugar, beets ditto, 
lettuce, onions, radishes and spinach, and the rest of the 
vegetable creation, with fruits of raspberries and currants. 
No strawberries, this year, of our own raising. Still 
nearer to us in the dooryard, the velvety lawn, whereon 
may be seen, of a Tuesday morning, bare-armed sisters, 
hanging out the family washing, and every afternoon, 
our four, girls, with their croquet set, or, seated in the 
shade of the horse-chestnut tree, darning stockings, mend- 
ing clothes, or making little things for the store. This 
lawn was given to me by Elder Frederick, that is, to look 
after and keep in order." 

All through the long, bright summer days, she enjoyed 
the lawn and the trees, sitting in her wheeling-chair, or 
moving about the grounds. Once, caught in the quick, 
wild rush of a sudden shower, her gleeful laugh and 
enjoyment of the fun was like a child's. 

Her latest song was never sung. Were the lines she 



QO 



Eldress Anna White. 



whispered, one night, in the ear of a loved child, say- 
ing, "This comes to me in this hour, of which you know 
nothing/' breathing the sense of dependence and rest in 
the arms everlasting, the song gift that came for her 
alone? In a vision of the night, she received and gave 
voice to a message of cheer and encouragement from 
unseen watchers. After that, there was a subtle but dis- 
tinct change in her manner. She seemed to wait for the 
time of earthly suffering to end, as the promise came to 
her, although she often referred, simply and naturally, 
to coming days, as if expectant of renewed pleasure in 
them. She many times repeated the words of her friend, 
Eldress Mary Ann Gillespie, "I want to live and see 
the gospel open and the new time come in!" One day, 
after her practitioner had left her, with encouraging 
words, she exclaimed brightly, as she was assisted to her 
couch, — "0 we shall see lots of good times, yet!" 

How she loved the ninety-first Psalm! On its grand 
pulsations, she had once been wafted back to our earth- 
shores. On her last night, in the hours of weariness, 
it was read to her, with favorite passages from the little 
book of Mrs. Eddy's, which she loved so well, and her 
face took on its uplifted look, as she rested again on 
the word of strength. The December day had been very 
dark, and, as she felt sight fading, she softly said, "I 
cannot see! Yea, I know the real sight is here!" Some 
one asked her how she did, and she replied cheerily, "I 
am doing well. 'Divine Love always has met and always 
will meet every human need/ " She slipped from the 
arms that held her as the bright sunshine came pouring 
over the hill, flooding her room with light. 

These chapters from the scattered leaves of her book 
of earth-life may close with lines from the pages of her 
note-book, where we saw her, day by day, pencilling 
them down. 



The New Life of the Spirit. 



9i 



"You may search the whole world over, 

Seeking rest and finding none, 
Not until the inner temple 

Opes its portals, one by one, 
Will you find that blessed kingdom 

Spoken of by God's dear Son — 
Peace and joy will then attend you, 

Perfect love cast out all fear, 
Truth and faith will guide you ever 

To a holier, happier sphere." 

"Peace, joy, health and prosperity and Love, which casteth 
out all fear 

Attend you Now and Forevermore. "A. W." 

XI 

Soul Relationship. 

ONE whose advent at Mount Lebanon occurred 
the day that Eldress Anna took the position 
of Associate Eldress in the North Family, and 
who, for more than forty years, was nearer 
to her in a soul-to-soul relationship than to any other 
human being, may find it difficult to give any satisfactory 
testimony to the privilege of those years, because experi- 
ences most sacred must ever remain veiled in the silent 
sanctuary of the soul. 

To one capable of receiving an understanding faith 
in the new life of the Spirit, the initial step from even 
the sweetest, purest and highest in earthly relationship, 
over the threshold of the new life, is a most momentous 
period in the journey of a soul, and she, who, in her own 
lovely girlhood, while freely sharing the best the world 
could give, and living to the high standard of righteous- 
ness of an earnest Quaker family, yet heard the call 



Eldress Anna White. 



"Come up higher," was especially fitted to echo that 
call to other souls. 

With generous recognition of the good in all religious 
teachings, encouraging gratitude and reverence to parents 
and friends who had guided in virtue's path, hers was 
a sweet persuasiveness to step upon higher ground. First, 
the understanding must be reached, the mind illumined 
and reason convinced, then the spiritual germ must be 
quickened, the heart convicted, the soul baptized. 

Types and shadows of ancient Israel, inspired utter- 
ances of the prophets and the beautiful teachings of the 
Christ, all were placed in such harmonious relation, one 
with the other, as to reveal the grand unity of truth, 
the goal of all progress. The Scriptures were illumined 
with deeper spiritual meaning. The sacred day of atone- 
ment, when the High Priest laded the iniquities of the 
people on the scape-goat, to be borne out to the wilder- 
ness of forgetfulness, the baptism in Jordan, with that 
repentance and confession, which was the initial step 
in entering the Christian life, then the deeper baptism 
of fire and the Holy Spirit, through which the at-one- 
ment with God could be realized, — all were presented 
with such unction as to silence vain sophistry and the 
pleadings of nature, under the power of conviction, 
with no alternative but to enter in at "the open door." 

No stranger is present to reproach or condemn, but 
a tender, comprehending friend, touched with a feeling 
of all human infirmity, renewing the sweet invitation, 
"Come unto me." Gladly the burden is cast aside, hidden 
conflicts are made known, — failures, disappointments, re- 
morse, or grief. Surely no human power could bring 
such deep relief, and there has been no sense of human 
presence. Through a humble witness, the saving spirit 
of Christ has been manifest. An aching void is filled, 
the soul is inspired with more definite purpose, stronger 
resolve and truer ideals. The good of the past is gath- 



Her Testimony Was a Quickening Power. 93 

ered up to be builded into the structure of the new life. 

Do some query whether it is possible to develop freely 
and deeply the highest functions of womanhood without 
experiencing maternity on the plane of nature? Eldress 
Anna was richly endowed with maternal sentiments. 
Beautiful type of Virgin Motherhood! But hers was the 
travail to bring souls into the second birth. For this, 
how earnestly she labored. With what care and constancy, 
the germ of this new life was watched and nurtured, only 
those who have shared <her devoted care and witnessed 
its manifestation to other hearts can fully appreciate. 

That deep reverence for truth which was fundamental 
in her nature made fertile the soil alike for strongest 
virtues and tenderest graces. Her testimony, keen and 
searching, was a quickening power. Her correction or 
reproof, never in a critical, fault-finding spirit, was 
frank and dignified, as heart speaking to heart in that sin- 
cere friendship, which sought only to render helpful ser- 
vice. Never were tones more tenderly pleading, more 
vibrant with love, than those which called the soul home 
to repentance, to deeper baptism, to renewed consecra- 
tion, to holier living. Those in earnest for self-conquest 
and spiritual attainment, in joy and gratitude could kiss 
the rod and feel anew the blessed Presence on the Mount 
of Olives or in the sours Gethsemane. Where responsive- 
ness was reluctant, little faith existed, or, for the time 
being was overshadowed, was manifest the greatest pa- 
tience, the long-suffering and constancy of a true mother- 
love for the feeble or delinquent child. 

When one, who had long required special considera- 
tion, seemed only to render ingratitude, misconceiving and 
harshly criticizing motives, resisting tenderest appeals and 
even maligning, still, with exhaustless patience, with fath- 
omless maternal love, Eldress Anna was making new ef- 
forts to win the erring one. A sister said, "Eldress Anna, 
why continue to do so much for one so ungrateful, so 



94 



Eldress Anna White. 



bitter and in every way so unworthy of your love? Surely 
you might feel that in her case the full measure of your 
duty has been done. Why not leave her to bear the weight 
of her own wrong till she comes to her right mind?" 

Eldress Anna replied, — "Her wrong cannot hurt me, and 
if it could, that should make no difference in my efforts 
in her behalf. There can be no limit to my duty in 
reclaiming or helping any soul whom my influence can 
reach. When anyone is under a shadow, then most a 
true friend is needed. When most unlovely, the greatest 
need for love to uplift and restore to the true self, — the 
child of God." 

In reference to all temporal duties, Eldress Anna's 
teachings embodied the precept of our Founder, "Lift 
hands to work and hearts to God." Herself energetic and 
unusually skillful, leaving the stamp of honor and artistic 
sentiment on whatever her hands found to : do, she was 
patient and generously lenient with those less gifted. The 
motives which prompted, the efforts made, the spirit? of 
consecration, were the important factors, the imperishable 
qualities. 

As a temple of the soul and instrument of its expres- 
sion in this world, the physical body should be judiciously 
cared for, a balance maintained conducive to highest ser- 
vice. Soul and body are interdependent. Only as labor 
or anything of the sense life contributed to the immortal, 
could it be of true value. Spiritual activities alone were 
vital. That these teachings had been essentially a part 
of her own life was wonderfully evinced in the years 
of her physical decline. Peculiarly appropriate to her, 
the stanza— 

"How happy that immortal mind, 

That rests beneath Jehovah's wings, 
Who sweet employment there can find, 
Without the help of earthly things." 



In Her Heart a Heavenly Peace, 



95 



It is the immortal mind that comprehendeth the things 
of the spirit. Unusually free of limb and clear of vision, 
she who had been so 1 active in varied temporal cares and 
with increasing demands upon her rarely gifted pen, 
seemed never to forget the injunction, "Seek ye first the 
Kingdom of God and His righteousness." During the 
long months when vision was veiled and limbs had lost 
their power, did she cease to be busy? Ah, nay! While 
yet clothed with the mortal, she rested beneath Jehovah's 
wings. In her heart was a heavenly peace and glad song 
of triumph. She had risen above the things of sense into 
the realm of spirit, where her strong soul communed 
with higher powers, received and dispensed the bread 
and waters of life — a veritable substance. Many outside 
of our borders realized this and would come tedious jour- 
neys^ for the privilege of sitting a few moments in the 
sunlight of her presence, always feeling refreshed and 
uplifted, and, as one expressed it, "enveloped in that 
mighty power of love which like a sacred chrism flowed 
to her garment's hem." 

Eldress M. Catherine Allen, 

Mount Lebanon, N. Y. 

OUR ELDRESS' ANiNA. 

We'd stood so long at the portal, 

Htad watched from day to day, 
The wearing away of the mortal, 

The weakening of the sway 
Of the flesh o'er mind and spirit, 

Till they rose on victor wings, 
And the frailties all inherit 

Flung aside as useless things, — 

But a step, a breath, a whisper 
Seemed between her and the call 



Eldress Anna White. 

Of the kind and patient angel 

Who smiling waits for all, — 
Yet our hearts sank low in sorrow, 

When they said the change had come, — 
Ah ! tomorrow and tomorrow 

Without her in the home ! 

For she had a loving interest 

In our work and in our ways, — 
Was so slow to judge the lapses 

And so ready with her praise! 
Soon her room became a temple, 

And her chair a holy shrine, 
Where each day her dauntless spirit 

Pressed more near to the Divine. 

But the shrine, alas ! is empty, 

And the curtain fallen low! 
For the frail white form is lying 

'Neath the scarcely whiter snow, — 
Had it only been in summer, 

When the lilies, tall and fair, 
And the roses sent their perfume 

Pulsing through the crystal air! 

Or in springtime's resurrection 

When the days grow bright and long, 
Sweetened by the pink arbutus, 

Quickened by the robin's song! — 
Well she loved the birds and flowers, 

Grey old hills in golden dreams, 
Skies in ever-changing splendor, 

Swaying trees and singing streams. 

Does it matter when the mantle 
Frayed by pain is laid away? 



To Her,, Truth Was the Gift of God. 97 



Shall we mourn when our dim twilight , 

Is the dawning of her day? 
Though the mists of that strange dawning 

Hide her from us for awhile, 
We shall meet another morning, 
Feel her^ love and see her smile. 

Grace Ada Brown, 

Mount Lebanon. 

A TRIBUTE OF AFFECTION. 

Although the visible presence of our beloved Eldress 
Anna is no longer with us, yet we know her spirit hovers 
near to minister its treasures of life, strength and encour- 
agement to her children. None knew our needs better 
than she, who was from early womanhood devotedly 
identified with them. In her we still trust. To her, our 
dearest, sweetest affections flow like the waves of the sea. 
I love to dwell on the great worth of her character. Sixty 
years ago, when I entered thd North Family, a little girl 
of nine years, it was my good fortune to be placed under 
her immediate charge, and the love that I gained for her 
has grown and increased with the years. During all that 
time, I have never known Eldress Anna to bring up or 
refer to a fault or error that has been put away accord- 
ing to the teaching) of our gospel faith. And now it is 
a consolation to look over our life path and see that no 
shadow from her or no drop of bitterness; fell into my 
heart. Her love for souls was too great to leave it pos- 
sible for augbt that could hurt the "oil or wine" to find 
even a thoughtless manifestation. S'he went to her duties, 
as the farmer goes to the soil, determined zealously to get 
the best. She met the truth in the same spirit. To her it 
was the real substance, the gift of God, to be accepted as 
it was by herself, and then in ringing tones given out to 



Eldress Anna White. 



the multitudes, no matter how adverse that multitude 
might be. 

Yea, she would fearlessly have walked into the fur- 
nace, — into the martyr's fire, rather than shrink from bear- 
ing the testimony of her divine faith. Her yea was yea 
and her nay, nay, for whatever was more than these she 
considered came from evil, was subterfuge, which is al- 
ways sin before the angels. She was an example, a guide, 
and her memory will be a lamp, that our blessing shall 
keep bright as we follow on to her eternal home. 

Ann Offord, 

Mount Lebanon. 

Eldress Anna took me as her child when I first came 
to her, a girl of thirteen, and she was always a true Mo- 
ther to me. She would seem to know when anyone was in 
trouble. At one time, I was feeling very unpleasant and 
unhappy, and was trying to cover the feeling from every- 
one. I had not been near Eldress Anna, but she called me 
and asked, "What is the matter, Martha?" Her mother 
heart and spiritual intuition had found me and all was 
well. In taking care of children for over thirty years, 
I would often be discouraged or become impatient. But 
she would say, "Martha, they are all God's children. They 
all have souls and are pleasing in God's sight. Do by 
them as if you were responsible for what they would be. 
The more difficult a child is, the more it needs you to 
pray for its salvation. Remember how you have been 
helped, and give to the little ones what you have re- 
ceived." 

I was naturally somewhat clairvoyant and would often 
see or hear things that I did not understand. I would go 
to Eldress Anna with what I had received in this way, 
and she always knew what it meant, but, in her wisdom 
and childlike spirit, she would often give me a word of 
counsel, or say, "If there is anything more, I would be 
glad to know." 



Our Mother Was Our Captain. 



99 



While strong, firm and determined, she was so sym- 
pathetic and affectionate, that if any of her household 
were absent from home, she would be the last at night 
and the first in the morning to think of the absent one 
and send a loving thought of greeting or protection about 
that one. At one time, I was absent from home for 
several months, and when I returned, for several days, 
she would often exclaim, "Sister Sarah, do you know 
that Martha is at home?" This mother heart, full of love 
for all God's children and for all souls because they are 
God's children, is a rich atmosphere in which to live and 
grow, and a rich inheritance for the lives in her home. 
Now, 

Gone away from human sight, 
To diviner life and light, 
It our Mother. 

No need we for woe or weeping, 
She is safe within the keeping 
Of Another. 

Though our vision may be clouded, 
And our faith a moment shrouded 
In the dust, 

Soon we see 'tis His, good pleasure 
To hold in trust our treasure, 
And we trust. 

We feel joy and a sacred pride in the memory of her 
courage, her heroic leadership. Our Mother was indeed 
the bravest of the brave. Whenever there was an im- 
portant matterj to be handled, a crisis to be faced, she, 
our Captain, was first in the battle, until the right must 
and did prevail. Many ia time, have we heard her give 



100 



Eldress Anna White. 



a trumpet call, and the hosts of Israel would listen, spell- 
bound. We have heard her repeat Lowell's lines, — 
"Truth forever on the scaffold. Wrong forever on the 
throne. 

But that scaffold sways the future, and within the dim 
unknown 

Standeth God among the shadows, keeping watch above 
His own," 

with such power as to rouse to instant action all the best 
there was in us. We trusted in her sense of right, of jus- 
tice, honor and truth, and to-day, while keenly alive to 
our responsibility to hold up our high standard and make 
no compromise with evil, feeling that we are stronger 
in God than we have ever been, we carry in our thought 
and purpose the lesson of her own beautiful hymn, 

"When the ancients of the city pass away, 
Who will keep the testimony burning bright? 
Who will hold the virgin standard snowy white, 
Like the saints who've gone before us in our day? 

"O Israel of God, awake! arise! 
Renew the covenants and counsels seek, 
So will thy God a precious remnant keep, 
To bless the earth and render to Him praise." 

Martha Burger, 

Mount Lebanon. 

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh 
me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me by the 
side of still waters. He restoreth my soul. Yea, though 
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will 
fear no evil, for Thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff 
they comfort me." 

It is not death that is the mystery, it is life. Life that 
begins in the silence and goes out into the silence — the 



Her Spirit S^ill Lingers. ioi 

dim unknown. We do not think that nature has made 
some terrible mistake when the flower that has flung its 
fragrance on the summer air, touched by the autumn 
frosts, shrivels and dies and silently slips away. Sb it is 
when death comes to claim old age, a well-ripened, fruit- 
laden life. The hands are at rest, having wrought their 
tasks and gathered into the heavenly garners the fruits of 
a well-spent life. As the frosts of winter settle down, and 
the evening twilight deepens, it is then that Death is the 
beautiful angel to open the gates to Immortality. We do 
not grieve as those bereft of hope, for we know that 
this life which has just passed from our mortal vision, 
though earth may claim its own, is ripe for the heavenly 
garners. 

The spirit of consecration to God, of devotion to duty, 
of noble self-sacrifice, of high purity of soul and of holy 
aspiration; these are the fruit of the spirit, the real 
things that never die. Her spirit still lingers with us, 
in the words of power that fell from her lips, the deeds 
of love wrought by l her hands, and the songs, that held 
the bread and waters of life that welled up from her 
heart to refresh and sustain, may be ours forever. We 
thank thee, dear one, for the inspiration of thy beautiful 
life, so full, so rich and so ripe, and may thy benediction 
rest over us always ! 

Annie Rosetta Stephens, 

Mount Lebanon. 

I hold in loving remembrance the lifework of Eldress 
Anna. Only a short decade it has been my privilege to 
know her. I loved her for her high qualities and holy 
aspirations, her readiness to) give the helping hand, and 
her desire for progress in everything pertaining to the 
elevation of the race. It has been said that the measure 
of a career is determined by three things. First, the 
talent that ancestry gives ; secondly, the opportunity that 



IQ2 



Eldress Anna White, 



events offer; and thirdly, the movements that the mind 
and will conceive and compel. Doubtless, for Eldress 
Anna, ancestry bestowed rare gifts. Neither was oppor- 
tunity lacking in the era which marked her entrance into 
the Society which was engaged in Christian reform. Every 
day was an event filled with opportunity to do good to 
humanity. Finally, her mind, so richly endowed, found 
ample scope in promulgating the doctrines of the Shaker 
Order, which was the choice of her life, — its talents, posi- 
tion, wealth and beauty, all given as the crowning glory 
to the Christ whose voice bade her adhere to principle, 
choose service, rather than selfishness, ease and luxury. 
She will long be remembered for her loving words and 
kind advice. 

Sarah Mazella Gallup, 

Mount Lebanon. 

TO ELDRESS ANNA. 

Through all the suns and shades of years, 

We cherish some sweet thought, 
And as the tide of life flows out, 

We trace what this has wrought. 

And thinking thus there comes to me 

From out the mist tonight 
A face, whose soul imprint is truth, 

The truth that loved the light. 

Near to that face, dear one, I'd oome, 

In prayer, join hand; and hands, 
That He who gives and He who takes 

Stronger may make our bands. 

And though a wall has just loomed up, 
That screens you from my sight, 



Only Beautiful Memories. 



103 



I know some day you'll lay it down, 
And show to me your light. 

This happy thought I'll cherish, dear, 

That you sometimes are nigh, 
So as the dawn begins to break, 

I'll breathe a short good-bye. 

Lottie. 

Only beautiful memories like links in a jewelled chain 
are those which have connected my life with that of dear 
Eldress Anna. At our first meeting, in the summer of 
1849, we clasped hands and loved each other iri friend- 
ship true and sweet, for instinctively we realized a kin- 
dred tie. 

We loved not only to walk together through field 
and wood, over hill and dale, where nature's beauties 
lured on our willing feet; still more we loved the sweet 
Shaker life and together early gave our pledge of Conse- 
cration. 

In the higher spiritual life we grasped an ideal, to fol- 
low which called forth all that was truest and noblest 
in our souls. How pleasant now to lift the veil of years 
and from the summit attained, trace the pathway of life's 
experiences. Whether through valley, up rugged steeps, 
wintry storms or sunlit skies, one precious faith has 
shone undimmed within our hearts. 

Though early separated by my removal to the Church 
Family, we have often met and lived over again our 
early days. Burdens were dropped and we were the same 
loving companions, stronger and richer in the wealth the 
years had brought us. As here we loved to sit beside 
the still waters in restful soul communion, "Only a little 
while," and, in the words of one of Eldress Anna's in- 
spired songs, "We shall meet, we shall meet." 

Ann Maria Greaves, 

Mount Lebanon. 



i©4 Eldress Anna White. 

FROM CANTERBURY, NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

"I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of 
them that keep thy precepts." Psalms CXIX, 63. 

My last visit withi Eldress Anna, in 1909, left a very 
pleasant memory. Though she was physically feeble, 
her mind was as active as ever, and through its strong 
current she was allied with the powers that never die. 
The change from this life to the realms of light in her 
case must have been like but the passing of a moment. 
Eternal life with ( her was a present reality; she was in the 
Kingdom of Heaven here, and its laws ruled her as a 
willing subject. She ministered wisdom from above to 
those who sought guidance, for beyond her in the treas- 
ure land of God her heart had centered its affections, 
hence her supplies were inexhaustible. 

Now that she has passed over the "Divide," how she 
will be missed — the ever ready helper in times of trouble! 
The loved ones of her immediate home circle, whe have 
witnessed the lamp of life flicker and grow dim through 
the passing months, may have steeled their hearts to meet 
the inevitable. My sympathies encompass the bereaved 
ones who still bear life's burdens, and every breath is a 
prayer that her mantle of strength and persistent Chris- 
tian endeavor may rest upon them, and the beautiful 
presence which has been the guiding star of home for 
many years,/ so abide that none will feel the friendship 
severed or the mother heart withdrawn. 

Lucy A. Shepherd. 

"Like the sweet breath of the morning 

Cometh the love of kindred souls; 
No distance, no valley or mountain 
Impedeth its course, as onward it rolls." 

The lines readily occur to mind as we offer tribute 



One of Earth's Conquerers. 105 



before a long and well-spent life. Eldress Anna was 
known and loved throughout Zion. Her untiring faith- 
fulness, her interest in the welfare of all our gospel 
homes, has helped to form the bond of fellowship be- 
tween us, which distance cannot sever. 

We feel that we know how to love and sympathize 
with the bereaved household at Mount Lebanon. Only 
a few years ago, we passed through a similar ordeal, 
when our beloved leaders were removed from this sphere 
of usefulness to the life beyond. In this connection we 
sometimes hear the expression, "Our loss is their gain;" 
but experience bears us out in saying that losing the tow- 
ering strength and protectionary influence of consecrated 
lives may result in a deeper, broader growth in the suc- 
ceeding generations. Almost unawares Christian man- 
hood and womanhood rise to the emergency, and in the 
strife to maintain gospel principles for the sake of those 
we "loved long since and lost awhile," a foothold is 
gained in integrity, and an ability unfolded commensur- 
ate with the needs of the day. 

So, dear friends, while we extend to you our heartfelt 
sympathy in the withdrawal of dear Eldress Anna, we 
clasp hands in the pledge that the God of our Fathers 
shall be our God, and their interests our care. 

Elizabeth Stirling. 

Dear Eldress Anna has — shall we say finished? — her 
work with her people. We know that the soul still lives. 
She has been one of earth's conquerors; by the ruling 
of her own spirit she became greater than "he that 
taketh a city." 

Months had lengthened into years since first we heard 
the whispered fears of her transition ; and we had almost 
forgotten the monition, so beautifully did her life lamp 
burn) low. But the angels did not forget, nor did they 



Eldress Anna White. 



miss the "shining mark." Quietly she glided from the 
"Twilight Land" into the "City of the Dawn." 

Having received from nature a fund of intellectual 
power sufficient to carry out her ideals on the moral 
plane, she nevertheless responded cheerfully to the call: 
"Go, work in My vineyard," entering with her whole 
heart into the service. All that constituted a home of 
luxury and pleasure on the natural plane she resigned, 
without questioning her reward. Wisely she filled her 
measure with fruits of honest labor, cheerfully sharing 
her garnered wealth with all who were bidden into the 
same vineyard. Whether) entering at the first or at the 
eleventh hour, all were equally worthy to her ; and never 
a murmur escaped her against the Husbandman. Her 
sweet submission and patience to what her conscience 
urged as duty marked the years, as they glided by, with 
ai richness and a brightness all their own. Out of sym- 
pathy for humanity, she opened the door of her heart 
and gave to all love and confidence. She kept ajar the 
portals of home, clothed, fed, sheltered all who ap- 
proached, gracefully ministering to the need, whether 
physical, mental, moral or spiritual, in its bearing. 

Her spirit outgrew the old theory of God's eternal 
punishments and in its place a soulful affection and tend- 
erness drew her life toward "'Our Father which art in 
Heaven;" and in this spirit she sought to minister to 
all who were her brothers and sisters under the divine 
parentage. Her religious fervor was so sincere that it 
took deeper and deeper root, broadening into an abiding 
peace-evidence of the divine power that creates a new 
(heart, — and little of the old dross remained, that so often 
mars the likeness of the spirit. 

Advancing years brought their burdens and changes, but 
our sister matured toward her gospel mission. She had 
invited the molding of the Great Potter, and submissively 
bent her will to the discipline, that evolved the beautiful 



Gifted in Spiritual Ministration. 107 

symmetry of her declining years. With life's lessons 
well learned and her name on the angels' roll of honor, 
her sun has set in) a halo of glory. 

Harriet A, Johns. 

IN LOVING MEMORY. 

We had the privilege of meeting Eldress Anna in our 
home at East Canterbury for the first time, many years 
ago. She then impressed us as one of the rare women 
of earth, endowed with superior abilities and with a 
prepossessing personality ; can the finite mind estimate 
the power for good of such a life, sanctified and conse- 
crated to the Christian Ministry? If not, it fails to do 
justice to the influence exerted by our Eldress Anna. 

Within a wide circle of acquaintance, our beloved sis- 
ter was deeply appreciated. By her, as a teacher gifted 
in spiritual ministration, souls seeking the Christ-life were 
clothed, fed and blest by her wealth of truth; and along 
the highway of life hers was "The song that had no end." 
Although the "wideness" of her sympathies reached into 
many of the philanthropic movements of her day, she 
sought no rank among the great ones of earth. She had 
hidden her "life with Christ in God," and in the sanctity 
of home is best chronicled the beautiful life whose history 
is as a "songj without words." Richly and truly has she 
held her place among the 

"Good women who are sentinels 
In the darkness of earth's night, 
Who hold with stout hearts silently 
Life's outposts toward the light; 
, And at God Almighty's roll call 

'Mong the hosts that answer 'Here/ 
The voices of good women 

Sound strong and sweet: and clear." 



Eldress Anna White. 



Many casual acquaintances fade from memory, but the 
stars of first magnitude gleam with a clear steady light 
in the zenith 1 of our mental vision shedding beams upon 
the lesser lights, as though connecting with the "light 
of lights" in the vast beyond. Even so the beautiful 
life of Eldressi Anna, like the polar star, can never set 
below our horizon. The evolutions of time only serve to 
lengthen and strengthen its rays, ever pointing upward 
and onward to higher spiritual progression. In the courts 
of Heaven a beautiful mansion has been reared, we be- 
lieve, as a counterpart of the earthly temple so perfectly 
adjusted to the higher law; and the risen spirit will doubt- 
less be perfectly at home with the exalted souls of the 
Resurrection Heavens. Having found "the new heaven 
and the new earth" before the spirit's departure from the 
tenement of clay, having risen as an overcomer and 
touched with the "four and forty thousand" the harp 
strings; of heaven, responsive with the "song of the re- 
deemed," we are assured this purified soul will find the 
"white stone," "the new name." Would it not be fitting 
should this angel minister address those who are on the 
battle-field to-day in the words of her own inspirational 
hymn of years gone by: 

"When the ancients of the city pass away, 
Who will keep the testimony burning bright? 
Who will hold the virgin banner snowy white 
As those who've gone before us in our day?" 

As the "voice of many waters" let the Millennial 
Church respond, 

"My right hand forget her cunning, 

And my tongue should speak no more, 
Jerusalem, should I forsake thee, 
And Zion's God fail to adore." 

Sarah F. Wilson. 



A Halo Over Her Infancy. 109 



1831— 1910. 

The Quaker of old thus outlined the true philosophy 
of life: "I expect to pass through this world but once! 
If, therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any 
good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me 
do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall 
not pass this way again. Let this be my epitaph: 

What I spent, I had; 

What I saved, I left behind; 

What I gave away, I took with me." 

Had our sainted Eldress Anna, at the opening of her 
beautiful life, engraved these lines on its archway, she 
could not, perhaps, better have) worded the formula she 
has followed so faithfully. As her visible presence slips 
gently away from those who have lived within the radius 
of her influence so many years, it is a real happiness 
to us to add our touch to the seal of satisfaction, already 
set by approving hands. 

We look back td cull from the page of (history choice 
words of expectancy from wise gospel mothers, who 
held them as an attainable crown of glory over her early 
footprints. How beautiful the words : "This child is an 
Israelite indeed!" Uttered by Mother Lucy Miller, of 
Hancock, Massachusetts, the remark cast a halo over the 
infancy of Eldress Anna. Years after, in 1849, at the 
outset of her spiritual journey, came the prophecy from 
Eldress Ruth Landon, couched in the words addressefl 
directly to the young woman, "If you are faithful, I can 
promise you all the tribulation you can endure; but you 
will always find strength to endure it." 

Time passed on, and hushed the impressive voices. 
The soul of the brave-hearted youth came in touch with 
the processes of God. She essayed the work of Christ 



no 



Eldress Anna White. 



at an age of discretion. She learned the terms of salva- 
tion and with them faced the objector within. She 
"counted the cost," and armed with deep conviction, vol- 
untarily committed her all to the leadings of Christ. 

Had she faltered in the desert, had she flinched in the 
furnace, had she weakly succumbed to the trivial sug- 
gestions of the mind, angel hands could not to-day enrich 
her, as they do, with the "white stone" of victory. But 
she stood, and "having done all" she stood! Many fell 
right and left, many wearied in the furrow; but like! a 
streak of Eternity's own light, she has penetrated and 
mastered the problems of Time. She takes her place 
with the triumphant, and, through all the ages, from her 
life memoirs will rise courage for the faltering, strength 
and confirmation for the true-hearted, and a sermon that 
"all who run may read." 

Inscribed to the memory of beloved Eldress Anna, 
and as a token of fidelity to the cause she loved, by 

One of her many sisters, 

Jessie Evans. 

from; the leaders at enfield, Connecti- 
cut. 

She is worthy, as the product of our faith and life, 
of our ever-enduring praise and exemplification. She 
was a sister of rare courage and ability, of lofty ideals, 
a heart and mind devoted and consecrated to the temporal 
and spiritual welfare of the whole human race. We love 
her as a mother, bless her as an inspirer, thank her for 
our increase and rejoice in her reward. We sympathize 
with you in her loss, Elder Daniel, and trust you may be 
blessed with such help as you need in this crisis to sus- 
tain and guide the family. 

Yours in the faith and in love, 

Your brother, Walter Shepherd. 



A Dear Spiritual Mother. 



hi 



A TRIBUTE OF AFFECTION. 

One by one, our loved ones are taken from us by the 
relentless hand of death. I believe that to those who are 
living pure lives and who stand in justification before 
God and the whole world, death has no terrors. This 
we can truly say was the case with our dear Mother, 
Eldress Anna. She was a brave soldier of the cross, 
never flinching at trials. She would stand for what she 
knew was right, boldly testifying to the truth, no matter 
what it cost. I have known our Mother for many 
years, and to say I loved her, but feebly expresses my 
meaning. 

From February, 1882, I was in close touch with Eldress 
Anna, as my Eldress and adviser. I can exclaim, O the 
pleasure of a dear spiritual Mother, one with whom I 
could speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom the 
simplest as well as the deepest thoughts of my heart 
could flow out simply and safely! She is one of the 
many mothers in Israel, administering strength to the 
weak and courage to the strong; to the erring, her char- 
ity was unbounded. Our little family are greatly indebted 
to Eldress Anna for her tender care over us. It was 
a great trial to the dear Mother, when, in 1897, we were 
called to leave our little home in Canaan and come to 
Enfield. I do not think that she ever quite got over it. 
Now, she has dropped the mortal for the immortal, and 
soars over mountains and valleys, sees all her children 
and gives us strength to surmount all the ills of life. 
Our Mother gone? Nay! She hovers round us, when 
we know it not. 

Miriam Offord. 
I have been acquainted with our beloved Mother many 
years, and always found her the same gentle spirit, blest 
with a love for that which is good, just and true. She 
was wise in counsel and could be approached by anyone, 



Eldress Anna White. 



who sought her advice in things temporal or spiritual, 
and, after leaving her presence, one always felt blessed 
by the intercourse. 

While living at the North Family, I had many oppor- 
tunities to notice how she met brethren and sisters, always 
with a pleasantness that would put the brother or sister 
at rest. In spiritual matters, she had no superior in wis- 
dom in admonishing and counseling souls. Her life work 
has been one continual effort to raise souls from the 
natural to the spiritual heavens; to this end she has given 
her all — body, soul and spirit; and now, she has gone 
home to the mansions above, where are the loved ones 
who preceded her, who waited for and escorted her to a 
home of rest. Do we miss her ? Ah ! Zion misses her 
very much, but we must bow to the inevitable. All must 
pass the same way to the happy beyond; therefore, do 
not let us mourn for the departed. She is not dead, 
but living; she put on the whole armor of God, and 
the result is she has gone to her blessed reward. Let 
us all strive to attain the same height of spirituality, 
and when we leave this mortal sphere, what a happy meet- 
ing we shall have! Your brother, 

George W. Clark. 

We send heartfelt sympathy in this bereavement, we 
mutually and deeply grieve. I loved Eldress Anna from 
the first time I met her. I always felt such a motherly 
feeling, her presence was heavenly. All Zion will miss 
her. I pray that the comforting angels will minister 
to the sorrowing household. Eldress Anna will not be 
far away, but ever near to bless her people with beauti- 
ful ministrations. We are one in spirit. May God 
strengthen you is the prayer of your sister, Annie 'Case. 
Eldress Rosetta joins in love and sympathy. 

From Wattrvliet. 



Consecration the Keynote. 



113 



XII 

In Memoriam. 

IT is hard to speak of the friend so lately gone from 
us in terms of personal detachment so tender are 
the recollections that rise with every thought of 
her, so vivid and compelling was her personality. 
Yet sometimes when death has set apart one with 
whom we have long lived in daily intimacy, we seek to 
separate our friend from the confusion of the merely 
trivial and accidental, to find some distinguishing trait 
or quality which can give the keynote for the complete 
harmony of the) character. So, thinking of Eldress Anna 
White to-day, the word which comes 1 to me as most in- 
clusive is consecration. She had early heard the call of 
the spirit, and in obedience to that call, lay for her the 
solution of the problem of life. Henceforth there was no 
faltering or regret, — no shrinking from sacrifice, or re- 
sponsibility, only a daily consecration, a long life of 
devotion to an ideal. 

Always loyal to the faith and traditions of her Order 
she saw life too sanely to ask for them universal accept- 
ance. In her generous spirit there was no room for 
egotism or bitterness, so she antagonized none, but with 
loving service ministered to all who sought her aid; and 
in that quiet room on the hillside many sorrows were 
comforted, wise counsels given, courage and hope 
strengthened and deepened. 

Her own sorrows were many and sharp, for the path 
in which her feet were set was often rough, and her 
physical strength never great, but in her patient acceptance 
of whatever came, was the acquiescence of a deeply re- 
ligious nature with an abiding confidence in the power 
and permanence of good as a force in human affairs. We 
feel this note of an exultant faith in her inspirational 



114 



Eldress Anna White. 



hymns which were many and always joyous. Hers was 
a happy nature, glad to be alive, loving the changing 
beauty of the hills, the coming of the birds and blossom- 
ing trees, the autumn glow and color and the weird 
splendor of winter snows. To those who knew her best 
she seemed always to dwell, in the peace of a faith clear 
and strong for she had "mastered the secret of serenity." 

What can I say of Eldress Anna the beloved friend of 
many years! How speak of the ready kindness, the un- 
failing sympathy, of the keen intelligence and sense of 
humor which made her the most charming and inspiring 
of companions, or of the tenderness of heart which so 
easily won love, and in joy or sorrow made friends her 
consolation and her delight. For those who had the 
privilege of Eldress Anna's friendship no words of mine 
are needed, for through the gloom of loss and the lone- 
liness of the travail shines the serene beauty of a sweet 
gracious unselfish life spent freely and gladly in the ser- 
vice of others. 

We know the closing years brought much suffering, 
and the weariness of great weakness, all borne with 
patience and fortitude, and we can well believe that death 
was for her, 

"Only a step into the open air 
Out of a tent already luminous 

With light — that shone through its transparent walls." 

Annie; M. Moody, 

Maiden, Mass. 

"When that which drew from out the boundless deep, 
turns again home V I can truthfully say of Eldress Anna 
White, whose earthly life ended at Mount Lebanon, New 
York, on December 16th, 1910, that she was one of the 
finest and truest women that it has ever been my lot 
to know. Coming among Shakers in early life, she had 



A Rare and Beautiful Character. 115 



been a member of the North Family for more than sixty 
years, and during this long period, she had always been 
most loyal to her faith, her home and her friends. 

Living what most people would consider a secluded 
life, especially in her earlier years, she had yet never 
become narrow-minded, but on the contrary, had always 
taken a keen interest in all good causes, and in all move- 
ments for the advancement of mankind. Stern in her 
devotion to principle, and wise in counsel, she was yet ever 
full of kindness and charity for individuals, and ever 
ready to forgive and help those who had erred, and who 
sought to turn from wrong-doing and to walk in the 
path of right. 

Taken altogether, Anna White was a rare and beau- 
tiful character, and I shall ever esteem it one of the 
g^eat privileges of my life that I knew her and enjoyed 
the delightful pleasure of her friendship for, more than 
twelve years. 

Roger W. Montgomery, 

Cambridge, Mass. 

Life and death, like sunshine and shadows, are waves 
upon the measureless ocean of existence and all in their 
time and turn are equally beautiful. Philosophically con- 
sidered, there is no death — no real annihilation. What we 
call death is but transition into higher states of con- 
scious existence. 

It is reported that the illustrious John Quincy Adams, 
only a few months before his death, when inquired of 
after his health, replied: "Adams himself is quite well, 
but the house in which he lives at present is becoming 
quite dilapidated; time and the changing seasons have 
very much shattered it, so that it is almost tenantless; 
and I think that soon, John Quincy Adams will move 
out of it; yet he himself, the inmost spirit, is well — very 
well." 



il6 Eldress Anna White. 

There is much wisdom embodied in the above lines. 
Adams, the real conscious inmost, as a spirit, was very 
well; the spirit is never sick. It is the undying God- 
Principle within the human form. And this forcibly 
reminds me of the meeting of dear Eldress Anna White 
the last time. She was well— quite well and very cheer- 
ful; her eye was bright, her nerve steady, her voice clear 
and her mental faculties brilliant as when I first met 
her in that lovely Mount Zion Shaker Home. This was 
something like a quarter! of a century ago- when I first 
met her in company with Elder Frederick Evans and 
other inspired souls. But the house, the frail tabernacle 
that she dwelt in when I last saw her, was much im- 
paired by a long life of service for others' good. 

This great, throbbing, selfish, material world has had 
but few such unselfish spiritual mothers, such spiritual 
sisters and beneficent friends as Eldress Anna. She 
seemed consciously and persistently to realize that, as she 
was to pass through this world but once, it was all- 
important that she should speak every good word, plan 
every good movement and perform every possible kind- 
ness now — now in] the living present; and so her calm, 
sweet, pure life was a purposed and constant sacrifice for 
others' good. Such, when resting from their earthly 
labors, go to the rest of a more active life in the 
heavens. Long before her departure for the heavenly 
realms of peace and progress, the angels of the regenera- 
tion had written upon her forehead in letters of fade- 
less light the words, Pure, True and Faithful. 

Early in her mortal life, afire with a love of purity 
and truth, she became a Shaker — a word used in derision 
as was the word Quaker and the word Christian — from 
principle — a principle spiritually permeating her whole 
being, enabling her to walk day by day in the newness 
of the resurrection — in the brightness of that light which 
illumined the soul of Mother Ann Lee, the parallel pro- 



"Ideals of a Saved World." 



117 



.jp'hetess of the prophet of Nazareth — positive and nega- 
tive— wisdom and love, ideals of what the world is 
ultimately to become — a saved world. 

Nations may rise and fall, rocks crumble to dust and 
suns set, but the principles of Shakerism will work their 
way and gradually, noiselessly, divinely awaken thought, 
arouse research and so kindle the invisible forces of 
the soul as to purge, purify, uplift and redeem the world 
of mankind, 'God is in the world and exalted angels 
continue to minister to mortals. And so, no truth ever 
did or can perish. Peace to the dust of our sainted 
Eldress Anna and joy unspeakable to her exalted and 
beautiful spirit 

J. M. Peebles, M.D., 

Los Angeles, California. 

My Dear Friends: 

About nine years ago, I began to come to your Family 
through our good friends the ■Clymers. I have found 
rest and peace and help whenever it has been possible 
to come here. It is true that we do not see Eldress Anna 
White in the flesh here to-day, but in the larger sense 
there is no death. About twelve years ago, my own 
father passed out of this world, but I was thinking only 
a few days ago how much better I knew him and loved 
him to-day than I did at that time, because as I have 
been working out a man's problem, I understand and 
know him better. So I believe with succeeding years, you 
will become better acquainted with this noble woman and 
her unselfish work. 

All over the world, men are spending their time ac- 
cumulating money or a business, or' a name which they 
can leave as a bequest to others. In the larger number 
of cases, even under the best possible conditions, such an 
inheritance proves a handicap and a curse to those who 
receive it. The inheritance that our friend has left to- 



n8 



Eldress Anna White. 



day, through her years of work in the vineyard of the 
Master, wont harm anybody, wont handicap them for 
their work, but will be an inspiration and a power to all 
who have ever known her. 

Though she lived here so many years midst these quiet 
surroundings, yet she knew personally people all over 
the world, she was thoroughly in touch with everything 
going on in the world, alert to every new movement, 
she had a refreshing sense of humor and an abundance 
of tact that made her one of the strongest characters 
I have ever known. Only two weeks ago, I saw her 
here and she was rilled with optimism, interested in what 
was going on along the line of Civic Righteousness, and 
her last words to me were those of encouragement and 
help. In closingj I would like to use the following: 

"The man who takes his stand with God, 

Forgetting things that are behind, 
Determined not to flinch or fall 
Upon his purpose well-defined, 
Will find the pathway God has planned 
Is strewn with flowers by human hand." 

George H. Cooper, 

Pittsfield, Mass. 

I desire to express to you and your esteemed family 
my sincere sympathy over the irreparable loss you have 
sustained in the departure of Eldress Anna. Bear with 
me when I state that the loss extends beyond you and 
the confines of your community. The life of such a 
sister adorns the highest type of womanhood. She was 
a most remarkable woman and possessed with a deep 
and penetrating mind, and would have been a command- 
ing figure for the betterment of the world in any of the 
conditions of life. In the government of the family 
according to the rules and regulations of the Order, she 



"One of the Inspirations of My Life." iig 

had no superior. Time will recognize the fact that as 
a writer or author she was endowed with rare gifts. 
Everywhere her influence was' exerted for good. I can 
but think that the world will he better for the ministra- 
tions she so carefully exerted. Every just mind that 
knew of her worth will pay tribute to her memory. 
Believe me, Yours sincerely, 

J. P. MacLean, 

Franklin, Ohio. 

It was one of my proudest thoughts that Eldress Anna 
White placed me among her friends. She was one of 
those rare Souls that pass through this world seemingly 
uninfluenced by its sins and sorrows. She developed to a 
wonderful degree her love and sympathy for mankind, 
her trust irn God and future life. So spiritual she be- 
came that it appeared she must see and be in touch 
with those of Heaven. It was* a benediction to know 
her, and to those who did, her life will have been a bless- 
ing forever. 

John H. Shipway, 

Noroton, Connecticut. 

An Appreciation. 

It is an inestimable privilege to be brought in touch 
with a great soul ! No one could stand in the pres- 
ence of Eldress Anna White and not feel the uplifting 
influence of the contact with one of the great women of 
the Century. I always recall my acquaintance with El- 
dress Anna as one of the inspirations of my life. Others 
will tell of her wonderful business ability and clear over- 
sight in matters pertaining to her Order, but I want 
specially to mention a little incident in her life which 
I had the privilege of sharing. It stands out in my 
memory as one of those clear-cut incidents that pass in 
a moment but make a most lasting impression. 



Eldress Anna White. 



It was upon the occasion of her visit to President 
Roosevelt at the White House, to present the Peace 
Resolutions which had been adopted at New Lebanon 
the previous summer. 

Eldress Anna had written to me to ask if I would 
arrange for the meeting with the President. I was very 
glad indeed to do so. At the appointed time Eldress Anna, 
Sister Sarah Burger, Mrs. J. B. Henderson, Mr. and Mrs. 
William Barnes of Albany and myself were admitted into 
the Cabinet Room, where we awaited the President. 

The room was full of men of National reputation, well- 
known figures stood in groups here and there whispering 
in awed tones. The chamber itself is awe-inspiring. As 
you look at the heavy mahogany table, surrounded by 
massive chairs, and realize that here on cabinet days are 
settled the great questions which are of so paramount im- 
portance not only to the people of the United States, 
but to the world; that in the adjoining room sits the 
President of the United States, with such unlimited power 
in his hands, representing the people of this great Coun- 
try, you cannot help but be somewhat overwhelmed by 
the atmosphere. But there was one figure in that as- 
sembly, whose spirit never quailed and whose heart never 
beat one stroke faster because she stood in the presence 
of this embodiment of earthly power. She had faced 
the eternal verities of life so long, and with her clear 
analytical mind she had pierced the shams and sophis- 
tries of systems so unerringly, that she saw only The 
Eternal, whether visualized in the presence of a cabinet 
officer or even the President of the United States. 

In a moment the massive folding doors swung open 
and stepping with brisk, decisive steps the President stood 
before us. I presented Eldress Anna to the President. 
He extended his hand, his face beaming with interest 
and pleasure, and in a most hearty manner welcomed her 
in the name of the people she represented. He spoke 



"I Thank Thee, Friend Theodore" 121 



a few well-chosen words of praise of what the Shakers 
had accomplished. I shall never forget her reply. She 
stood before him gowned in her little grey dress, the 
embodiment of self-possession and in an even, well-modu- 
lated voice replied: "I thank thee, friend Theodore!" 
So gentle and sweet yet strong was her voice that every- 
body in the room heard it and all gazed in amazement. 
Many present had seen the scions of royalty presented 
to the President, had seen committees representing every 
phase of commercial, social and political life of the 
country, but never before had they seen one person, upheld 
only by the proper appreciation of her own value <as an 
immortal soul and as a child of God, which gave her 
the right to* stand unabashed in the presence of any man 
whatever the adventitious circumstances which surrounded 
him might be. It was a lesson in the value and dignity 
of Humanity that no one could ever forget. I count it 
not only one of the greatest privileges of my life to 
have known Fldress Anna, but also one of the greatest 
educational factors that it has ever been my privilege 
to enjoy. 

Kate Waller Barrett. 

The average excellence of the majority, "silent" to 
human ears, has gained by the acquisition of Eldress 
Anna's choice spirit. Fitting faith in our supremely 
benevolent Father, forbids us to mourn, except to the ex- 
tent that our weakness permits or necessitates. Her bodily 
presence, appreciable to our senses, is lost to us. If, how- 
ever, we have profited as we ought, and believe we have, 
from intimate association with her, her beneficent; spirit 
is still with us. Even as her spirit was not created when 
her body was born, so it has not ceased to live, even 
here, although its envelope has changed its function. 
Many are now more spiritual than we should have been 
but for the influence of her spirit upon ours. We may 



122 



Eldress Anna White. 



help show our appreciation of truth, increased by sharing 
her spirit while it was still embodied, if we prove our 
belief that that spirit has been freed, rather than limited 
in influence, by losing the trammels of an attendant body. 
Her liberality of opinion and benevolent altruism, mani- 
fest in thoughts, words and deeds, augment the endear- 
ment to us of those cherished qualities, admirable however 
largely viewed. Her choice of a single item of her faith, 
as preferable to worldly wealth, when she might have 
either, but not both, amply attested the keenness of her 
vision, with eyes of faith, as well as her acuteness of 
discrimination between prices and values. Appreciation 
of homely virtues was shown not only by her personal 
practice of them, but also by her applause of others 
who did likewise. Messages of such commendation, sent 
by her, have often fortified a fainting heart. We do not 
want to question our Father's wisdom or love when we 
wish that we might still enjoy her encouraging smile. 
But even momentary meditation and appeal to our deeper 
faith, suffice to show that it has been, and may still be, 
our memory, of that benign expression, that has most 
cheered us. Conduct expresses the spirit of the person 
to whom both belong. Conduct is also the means of 
setting an example. If we have profited by Eldress 
Anna's example and can make our conduct worthy of 
such influence, we shall be heirs of her spirit and an- 
swerable 1 to the Holy Spirit for careful custody of that 
share of the Supreme in the Godhead. Requiescat in 
pace! 

C. M. Culver, M.D. 

Albany, New York. 

It has been said by one of the most famous women of 
modern times, Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, — "One marvels 
that a friend can ever seem less than beautiful." 

It was no task for the friends of Eldress Anna White 



Fearless Moral Courage and Sublime Faith. 123 

to discover those qualities of mind and heart which 
constitute real beauty, and which were continually re- 
flected in her character. She was a woman of fearless 
moral courage and sublime faith, ever ready to listen 
and learn as well as to counsel and to encourage, her 
influence for good extending beyond the Shaker Order 
and only limited by the outer boundary of her acquaintance. 

I came to know Eldress Anna at a time when human 
verdicts said her last day on earth was drawing to a 
close, but as a result of her spiritual vitality and in- 
stantaneous response to the Word of Life, she recovered 
her physical health and was restored to active life in 
the family, her written' testimony appearing later in the 
December, 1907, Christian Science Journal. 

Eldress Anna retained her buoyant and childlike spirit, 
which is always an indication of purity and love, and 
which made her a charming personality and a wise and 
helpful friend, to the end of her earthly career. I 
count it a great privilege to have known Eldress Anna 
White. 

Archie E. Van Ostrand, 

Pittsfield, Mass. 

My Dear Friends: 

We read in the New York Times of Friday last that 
Eldress Anna White had passed into the larger room, to 
be hidden from our fleshly eyes and to busy herself with 
such loving office as was ordained. Our hearts are warm 
with sympathy for you all in what will be a great be- 
reavement truly, for we think the Eldress was a mother 
to many, and a stout-hearted, serene counsellor to those 
in need of support and direction. 

You will not be alone in your sorrow for the circle 
of the Eldress's friends was limitless as the waves of 
light and many hearts will feel heavy with a personal 
sorrow. Great is the victory of those, who, through 



124 



Eldress Anna White. 



the overthrow of the terrors of death, pass the portals 
to the realm of knowledge and true light. For them 
the passage is a luminous, sublime translation. The 
shackles of earth are shaken off and the patrimony of 
Heaven is divided to them. As sons and daughters they 
see God and we believe there are some who need not 
dread to see the Presence of the All Life. 

In our visits to your happy, beautiful home land, we 
•had come to know Eldress Anna more or less intimately, 
and so knowing learned to love the charm of her per- 
sonality, her spiritual and intellectual force, her earnest- 
ness, her fidelity, her zeal for the cause of all that is 
best in Shakerism and in all other unselfish efforts. 
She seemed always to see the substance through the 
shadow with the clear vision of a seeress, and I recall 
that she once told me that at no time had men and women 
more important matters to meditate upon and converse 
about than those affecting their ethical development. 

We grieve with you because we are to see her no more 
as wq saw her, but in our memory's treasure-house wc 
shall ever cherish the recollection of a sweet, loving, wise 
friend. The simplicity of her trust finds an image in the 
expectancy of this season when God sends again His 
message of peace and love to His children. 
Your friend, 

Walter Grafton, 

New York City. 

It was in the early September of 1906, in response to 
repeated invitations, doubtless in the first instance due to 
th'e Rev. Amanda Deyo, that I visited the North Family 
of Shakers at Mount Lebanon — accompanied by my young 
friend, M. S. F. I arrived just before the early country 
tea. Even while partaking of the simple but bountiful 
ancl delicious refreshment, I felt the atmosphere of the 
place. Almost immediately after supper, we repaired to 



A Broad and Open Mind. 



125 



the hall where I was to speak — for the object of my visit 
was to speak on "The Mission of the International 
Council," in which the "North Family", which had re- 
cently entered the National Council, had become interested. 

It was at the close of my address that I received my 
first impression of the intellectual grasp of Eldress Anna 
White. Her womanly grace and sweetness had already 
been expressed in her welcome of her guests, but now 
it was a broad and open mind, illuminated by a clear 
vision of world relationships, which was displayed, as 
she led an uncommonly intelligent discussion of the ad- 
dress. I was induced to prolong our visit and during 
three memorable days, I had many opportunities for ob- 
serving Eldress Anna's tact and judgment. I was sur- 
prised to find how wide was her knowledge of great 
world movements and how sound was her judgment con- 
cerning proper solutions of the human problems involved. 

Before this visit, I had thought of this community as 
safely islanded within its own interests and ideals. After 
it, it seemed to me rather a tower for observation, and 
its head the keenest and clearest-eyed of observers. 

A year later I made a second short visit to the North 
Family; in the interim I had exchanged many letters with 
Eldress Anna, each of whose communications in turn 
gave new proof of her penetration and judgment as well 
as of her tenderness and sympathy. She was not strong 
when I went to her room to say good-by to her at the 
end of my last visit, but her face shone with goodness, 
and I left her feeling that she was like a crystal lamp, 
guarding a flame that needed no trimming, because fed 
from an inexhaustible reservoir with which its connec- 
tion was perfect, continuous and permanent. The news 
of Eldress Anna's death does not destroy this picture 
of her or lessen the fidelity of the symbol. 

May Wright Sew all, 

Boston, Mass. 



Eldress Anna White. 



Dear Sisters : 

You have asked me to contribute a word of appre- 
ciation for your book about dear Eldress Anna. You 
ask a difficult thing, not that there is not much to say. 
but so much and of such a character that it is not 
easy to speak of her briefly or without seeming to those 
who have not had the great privilege of knowing her 
personally, too extravagant. 

We who knew her best know that to praise her mod- 
erately isj to do her an injustice, hers was such a rare 
and haunting personality. When I think of what that 
most abused term, "A Lady," should stand for, my mind 
flies to Anna White, who was the most exquisite and 
gracious lady I have ever known. She was unfailingly 
courteous and gracious in her manner, and so gently 
dignified in her bearing that all might come to her, but 
none trespass upon her; with an insight and understand- 
ing so keen that she could pity and not be deceived, 
with a rare sense of fun and humor, with a perfectly 
balanced intelligence, wise, serene and well-poised, head 
and heart co-ordinating, tender and pitiful, a very Gra- 
cious Lady. 

When I think of a mother, I think again of Anna 
White, for she seemed to epitomize all the spiritual 
graces of Motherhood. For her, there was no need of 
the material experience of maternity, to develop the 
Mother genius which was hers, and which she used to 
succor and strengthen so many lives. In the hearts of 
many she is treasured in a place apart as "The Little 
Mother." 

As a leader she would have found her place in what- 
ever sphere of life her fate had been cast. She had the 
soul of the Leader, valiant and courageous and undaunted 
— a veritable little warrior — but the weapons of her war- 
fare were not "Carnal, but spiritual to the pulling down 
of Strongholds." 



She Kept Her "Clouds op Glory." 127 



And what a loyal and generous-hearted friend she knew 
how to be — Woman, Mother, Leader, Friend. Yes, she 
was all of these, but how could it be otherwise with 
the spirit in her that seemed to burn like a white flame, 
ever mounting higher and higher and purifying and ex- 
alting every act and relationship of her human life, i 
used to wonder why she filled me with such a sense 01 
awe and honor. Why I felt more honored to have this 
little Shaker Country Woman meet me with outstretched 
hands, than I could have felt for any one else in the 
world — and I remember Wordsworth's lines: 

^Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting. 

The soul that rises with us, our Life's star 
Hath had elsewhere its setting, 

And cometh from afar. — 
'Not in entire forgetfulness 
And not in utter nakedness, 
But trailing clouds of glory do we come 
From God who is our home." 

I think the reason we felt such honor and awe in her 
presence was, because she had been able to keep her 
"Clouds of Glory" all about her during her earthly life. 
She brought with her, to us, a sense of The Presence, 
and when she went away the step for her could not 
have been into the unknown. 

Lena R. Smith, 
New York and Canaan. 

< 

Universal Peace Union, 
Philadelphia. 

To My Very Dear Friends, of the Shaker Family, 
Mount Lebanon, N. Y. : 
I have just learned of the translation of our sainted 
Anna White and I hasten to give vent to my feelings 



128 Eldress Anna White. 

of sorrow, not for her blessed spirit, for that is assured 
in rest and peace: but for the separation of a companion- 
ship so full of joy, serenity and harmony, that it seems 
like breaking into a divine chorus of the living here, 
in so much faith and trust and love. "Blessed are they 
that mourn for they shall be comforted/' We all mourn 
for this severing of congenial ties. You have cause to 
feel sad for the loss to yourselves and yet a rejoicing for 
her ascension. 

My heart overflows when I think of her gift and her 
beautiful words to me on my 8oth Birthday, and when 
I chide myself for not promptly writing her in addition 
to my "Acknowledgment" in the "Peacemaker/'' of Sep- 
tember and October. She must have known that I was 
deeply touched by her sisterly affection, I call it but a 
continuance of that fraternal nature that was manifested 
from the first time we met, and when I visited you some 
years ago and until she penned the sweet words to me 
last September. 

How these angelic visitations seem part of the Heaven 
here — she made the connection of the spiritual and ma- 
terial so closely dove-tailed that it was impossible to 
tell where one ended and the other commenced. I want 
you all to accept this letter as a brotherly tribute to 
your and my departed loved one, and a testimony to you 
for your devotion and faithfulness. I know you took 
the best of care of the "pearl" of your family, and you 
will receive the merited reward. 

She was one of our Vice-Presidents, always sending us 
her love and appreciation and her regular contribution 
for her dues. We need more Anna Whites. You move 
the world by the unseen but not unfelt mystery of Truth 
and Wisdom, even in your splendid modesty. We do not 
see the perfume of the flowers, or know the make-up of 
electricity, but we do appreciate the sweetness of the 
one and accept the wonders of the other. You may well 



A Serenely Consistent, Unselfish Life. 129 

be compared with* these forces from the Creator of all 
good. 

With the profound sympathy and love of your attached 
friend I wish you all that peace so truly deserved for 
your faith. 

Alfred H. Love. 

The loss of one who has thought high thoughts and 
lived a serenely consistent, unselfish life, is a very great 
loss to the state and to the world. 

Eldress Anna White, — simple, straight-forward, kindly 
and unaffected, moved among her family as guide, philoso- 
pher and friend. Her splendid eyes looked out from a 
brow of thought, and her clear voice, fine diction and 
commanding figure naturally made her a leader. Above 
all she was a woman with the womanly qualities of 
devotion and helpfulness; and for us she was just a 
dear friend whose bright smile gave us a double pleasure 
in coming to the dear North Family to see our beloved 
friends The Shakers. 

Leigh Hunt, 
Grace Anna Hunt, 

New York City. 

In September, 1909, it was my privilege to spend a 
few days at Mount Lebanon as the guest of Eldress Anna 
White, in response to an invitation received some months 
previously in correspondence. 

At the time of my visit, Eldress Anna was greatly en- 
feebled by recent illnesses. I was permitted to enjoy 
two somewhat lengthy private interviews during my brief 
stay at Mount Lebanon, the impress 1 of which will ever 
remain an inspiration to all that is highest and holiest 
in womanhood and in Christian living. 

Eldress Anna possessed in herself, not only remarkable 
endowments of mind and executive ability, but com- 



Eldress Anna White. 



bined with these, those higher qualities of soul, which 
enabled her to enter into close sympathy with other 
souls and to bestow upon others that greatest of all 
gifts, Love. The memory of my brief intercourse with 
this rare and beautiful spirit, so far removed from, so 
exalted above all that is sordid or unreal, will ever re- 
main sacred and inspiring. My tribute to her memory 
can best be paid in the words of Jesus, speaking of 
Nathaniel, "Behold! an Israelite indeed, in whom is no 
guile." 

Mary C. Henry, 
West Orange, New Jersey. 

I regret to learn of the passing away of Eldress Anna 
White; though of course I noticed, when last I saw her, 
that she was not long for earth. It was a real benedic- 
tion to be in her presence again the day when I called 
with Mr. England. I shall treasure the memory of her 
as a woman of fine mind and rare spirituality. These 
extraordinary gifts, combined with her simple kindli- 
ness and common sense, must have made her an in- 
valuable leader for your little group. I shall treasure 
the memory of Eldress Anna White, and I wish for all 
of you an inheritance of her spirit and her power for 
good. 

Rabbi Charles Fleischer, 

Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

I never have seen a more heavenly presence in earthly 
form than that of beautiful Eldress Anna White. How 
the frail tenement so long held the angelic spirit is the 
wonder — not that now it has gone to seek its own. What 
a gentle transition from this world into the other that 
is so near and sometimes only half hidden. 

Affectionately, 

L. A. Coonley Ward. 



Lofty in Her Ideals. i$t 

For purity of motive she was pre-eminent. The wel- 
fare of the family and society, its highest good, its 
greatest possible attainment, were her chief thought and 
care. Broad-minded, lofty in her ideals, honest, earnest 
in seeking their achievement, eager and anxious to share 
her light and understanding with and for the benefit of 
others. Eldress Anna had to be viewed from so many 
different standpoints, judged by hard, difficult problems. 
I knew her long before she became Eldress. Always, 
always she wanted only the right; no compromising for 
expediency, but the best attainable, the greatest good. May 
it ever live and flourish among you! Her loyalty, devo- 
tion, consecration, are as a beacon leading on and up, 
to the heights beyond. 

Catherine Blake, 

New York City. 

OUR DEARLY BELOVED ELDRESS ANNA 
WHITE. 

By Cecelia DeVere. 

Hers was a life of revelation pure, 

With love unfolding like God's holy gift, 

With strength of soul that made her footsteps sure 
What e'er the path, or tempest wild and swift. 

We needed not life's billows to decline, 
Before her heart-pearl virtues came to view, 

We hourly saw them in their beauty shine 
In radiant halos, white and ever new. 

A revelation was her mind's expanse, 
She frankly greeted truth in any guise, 

But fearless challenged Falsehood's armed advance 
And amply proved her innocence was wise. 



132 



Eldress Anna White. 



Her upright honesty was wise indeed. 

It gave her victory on every field; 
For plot or plan, she never saw the need, 

And never saw a time to weakly yield. 

I » j 

Valiant for right, as valiant against wrong, 

She stood her ground with brave, unflinching zeal, 

Intent to test her soul and know it strong, 

Prepared to bear the stress that martyrs feel. 

But as a shepherdess with mother heart, 

What love, what grace, what tenderness expressed, 

What delicate compassion, artless art, 

Drew to her souls and made them truly blest! 

Dear one, beloved beyond all power to tell, 
Dear faithful guardian through the long, long years, 

Thy inner life spreads now its heavenly spell 
Upon the fountain of our sorrowing tears. 

For thee, emancipation new and strange! 

Our sympathies awake to help thee bear 
The dawn of the new life, the mystic change, 

That in our turn we all with thee must share. 

We will not say farewell, Death is a phase 
That cannot take thee from immortal ties, 

It can but hide thee in the shadowy haze 
Where light eternal on Life's River lies. 



ELDER DANIEL OFFORD. 



Or English Ancbstky. 



135 



MEMORIAL OF 
ELDER DANIEL OFFORD. 

I 

AT the head of the North Family for many years 
stood Elder Daniel Offord, — small, slight, mus- 
cular; full of energy, vigor and determination; 
conscientious, far-seeing, unselfish, full of love 
for humanity; from his deep, sad, kind eyes, looked 
out a tender, brave, patient and loving soul. 

Daniel Offord was of English stock, born at Richmond, 
Surrey, November nth, 1843. His ancestors, for several 
generations, followed the trade of maltster. His grand- 
father, Robert Offord, was a dealer in grain, hops, seeds, 
coal, etc., acting as factor for a wealthy merchant. Re- 
spected for honesty and integrity, he was often appealed 
to in business matters, because of his sound, reliable 
judgment. Of his wife, Ann Leeks, her son has said: 
"She was' one of the neatest, cleanest, most industrious, 
honest and chaste women I have ever known, consistent, 
spiritual-minded and devout." Coming under deep re- 
ligious conviction, an entire change was wrought in his 
habits and manner of life. Both became devoted Metho- 
dists, but, when Robert thought that the Methodists were 
growing too worldly, he withdrew and with a few like- 
minded, started a chapel for themselves. Afterwards, he 
united with the Baptists, and died in that faith in 1856, 
at the age of eighty- four. 

Their third son, William, was born at Stowraarket, 
Suffolk, July, 1803, and was reared at Bury St. Edmunds, 



136 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



whither Robert had removed, A nervous, sensitive, re- 
ligious child, he was apprenticed to learn the printing, 
book-making and stationer's business and, at twenty- 
one, went to London where he was married to Susannah 
King, like himself an ardent Methodist. They settled 
at Richmond, Surrey, where William managed a print- 
ing business. As their older children became able to 
assist in the support of the family, William opened a 
small grocery and bake-shop, where they found employ- 
ment. He would sell nothing on the Sabbath, but gave 
away bread and groceries to those who needed them, 
trusting in God to supply any lack to himself. For his 
strong testimony against worldliness in preachers and 
people, he was suspended from the Methodist Church, 
after twenty-eight years of membership and fifteen years 
as local preacher. He at once began out-door preaching, 
and, with a few others, hired a vacant chapel, which 
they called their "Place of Worship." Greatly exercised 
in mind on the subjects of marriage and communism, 
he had a strong impression of a coming greater light 
than they had yet received and told his friends of his 
convictions, saying, "God may send us the truth by some 
poor man or poor woman, but, whatever the messenger, 
ff I feel it to be true, I shall follow it, no matter through 
what suffering." 

One Sabbath, a stranger appeared in their midst, who 
expounded the beliefs and explained the customs of the 
American Shakers. Great interest was aroused. He was 
regarded by the simple-hearted, earnest group as a very 
holy, superior man. The facts were that he was not a 
nian of faith or of good principles. He had lived among 
Shakers, understood their doctrines, but had been dis- 
missed from every society where he appeared. But, what- 
ever the character of the instrument, he was used by the 
Spirit to promulgate the truths for which Ann Lee, sev- 
enty years before, had gone to America. 



A Communist at Eight Years Old. 137 

After the meeting in which Shakerism had been ex- 
pounded, William Offord sat down on a bench to think. 
The message, he felt was true and he could not get away 
from it. He had been coming to it through the years. 
"I saw," he said, "what it meant by forsaking and hating 
the wife/' etc., and by the words, 'Let him take up his 
cross and follow me.' I had a horrible picture of what 
would be the consequences of living according to the 
light that shone so clearly into my understanding. I saw 
my business lost, myself hated and persecuted, my name 
cast out as evil. I saw my family in need, the danger 
of personal injury, of being treated as insane and shut 
up in a lunatic asylum and many more very probable 
consequences." He remembered his own words : — "If a 
man be not honest, he will not obey all the light he 
has."' "Now I have more light than ever I had, what 
am I going to do? That evening, I said to Susannah, 
'You have heard this testimony as well as myself, and 
you have often heard me say that there are not two 
ways to heaven, one for the high and lofty and another 
for the low and poor. I now see that there is one work 
for all to do. If you have a mind so to do, you may 
take up your cross and live as did Jesus, but whether 
you do or not, I shall.' She turned pale, but said nothing. 
I felt released." 

The influence of the stranger, whose name was Evans, 
was resented by Susannah Oflford and many other women 
of the congregation, who intuitively apprehended his real 
character. A few accepted his teachings and formed a 
small community, among them William's oldest daugh- 
ter, Betsey, and his youngest son, Daniel, eight years of 
age. William had not been deceived in his forecastings. 
For two years, his life was filled to the brim with per- 
secution. The stranger's influence over him became one 
of darkness and confusion, but he was too sincere, honest 
and upright, to be led far astray. One Sabbath morning, 



138 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



5n a state of deep depression, he was constrained to 
turn aside into a solitary place, which happened to be 
the yard of a livery stable, and shake most thoroughly. 
He felt so much better, mentally and spiritually, that, 
meeting Evans on the street, he told him about it and 
exclaimed, "Shakerism is the most rational religion on 
earth!" To his surprise, his friend made no reply. Wil- 
liam knew nothing about shaking as a religious exercise, 
or he might have received a hint of the man's real char- 
acter, for the false-hearted among Shakers ever hate and 
despise the humiliating and purifying work of true spir- 
itual shaking and its physical expression. 

True to his vow to preach as he had opportunity, Wil- 
liam traveled about, preaching Shakerism, as he under- 
stood it. He went to Liverpool and preached from the 
steps of the custom-house, a place open to any who 
wished to free their minds to the public. Finally, he 
decided to go to America and seek out the Shakers for 
himself. Bidding his family farewell, he sailed August 
4th, 1849, reaching New York, September 13th. Arriv- 
ing at Lebanon Springs on Saturday afternoon, he walked 
two miles to Shaker Village, on Sabbath morning, as 
Richard Bushnell had done before him, and attended ser- 
vice in the meeting-house. Brother Frederick Evans was 
addressing the people, and William "gathered heart and 
soul to Believers. Place and people were sacred to me." 
Elder Richard Bushnell invited him to the North FamiTy 
and the next morning he confessed his sins. According 
to his quaint recital, — "The great archangel's trumpet 
had sounded in the ears of my inmost soul, and by it 
I was awakened from spiritual death in sin and called to 
the resurrection of life — called to live as Jesus lived, 
and had to appear at the judgment seat to give an ac- 
count of the evil I had done in and with the body. But 
it was not that great and awful Throne with the Great 
God seated thereupon that I had long dreamed of. I 



William Offord Becomes a Shaker. 139 

found it to be simply a cut-down apple tree in the or- 
chard. Upon this Elder Richard, one of the Witnesses 
for God, seated himself and in a very kind, friendly and 
fatherly manner invited me to be seated by him. I found 
that log to be quite as much of a dazzling throne as I 
could bear to approach, and him who sat thereon quite 
as much of a God as I could master courage to open 
the dark places of my history to." 

William wrote to his family, urging Susannah to join 
him. This she refused to do, but sent out two sons, 
who ultimately returned to England, and later, three 
daughters, Rhoda, Ann and Miriam. The month follow- 
ing William's entry, he met, upon tieir arrival at Canaan, 
Robert and Anna White, the latter having decided to be- 
come a Shaker. Upon the last night of Eldress Anna's 
life, she saw William Offord, called him by name, waving 
him' a courteous greeting. Doubtless, he was of the band 
who met and welcomed her as she entered the spirit 
world. 

One June morning, William was at work in the garden, 
looking over the beautiful Lebanon Valley spread out 
at his feet, and exclaimed to Elder Richard, — "I know 
this place, I was here more than twenty years ago!" He 
then related a dream, in which he came to America 
twice in a sailing packet and saw a beautiful place with 
most charming scenery. When he moved to Richmond, 
in Surrey, the garden of England, he thought that was 
the fulfillment of his dream, except that he had not 
come by water. Now, he verified the place. 

After several years, William became anxious about his 
remaining children and went back to England. He found 
Susannah in prosperous circumstances, living in a pretty 
village not far from London, and very unwilling to allow 
Emily, the youngest child, to return with her father to 
America. He found Daniel, thirteen years old, still liv- 
ing with Evans, spending his time grinding and prepar- 



140 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



ing charcoal for some medicinal preparation. Evans was 
away and he had no difficulty in securing the boy, Daniel 
seeming very glad to go with him. His eldest and fav- 
orite daughter, Betsey, had married and gone to Aus- 
tralia. This was a great grief and disappointment. Sus- 
annah soon became reconciled to parting^ with the chil- 
dren, fitted them out comfortably and accompanied them 
to the vessel, to see them off for America. She finally 
went to Australia and ended her days in the home 
of her daughter Betsey. 

Dreading possible trouble and useless argument, Wil- 
liam instructed his children not to use the word Shaker 
or speak of their faith or destination on the voyage, 
which, according to his dream, was made, like the first, 
in a sailing packet. The chilly winds and cold air of the 
cabin made William ill and he was forced to take from 
his box his long, blue, outside coat of Shaker make, for 
warmth. A wealthy Quaker, returning from a tour of 
Europe, recognized the Shaker garb and inquired if he 
knew Robert White. Finding himself caught, William 
said, "I suppose this coat is the cause of that question." 
The Quaker, whose name was Mott, replied that it was, 
and that he knew Robert White well. In the conversa- 
tion that followed, William learned to his astonishment, 
that, during his absence, his friend and brother, Robert 
White, had passed away. His new friend secured for him 
warmer quarters, so that he soon recovered. Daniel and 
Emily tried to obey their father's injunction, but they 
were included in a Sabbath School class, gathered from 
the children on board and instructed by a lady passen- 
ger. When questioned on the fundamentals of the Chris- 
tian faith, Daniel, who found the teaching more than he 
could accept, spoke his faith as fearlessly as in after 
years. 

Landing at New York, they reached Canaan, where 
they were met by Brother Charles Greaves and taken 



A Shaker at Thirteen Years. 



141 



to the North Family. Daniel, his pockets filled with apples 
by the Canaan sisters, offered the finest to his new friend, 
who never forgot the boyish generosity. Emily, a beautiful 
and gifted girl, spent her life at Canaan; Daniel re- 
mained at the North Family. He was a polite lad, obe- 
dient, diligent and truthful. The winter found him ac- 
companying the brethren on long expeditions over the 
snow-drifted roads, to cut wood on Washington Moun- 
tain. They would load their ox-sleds with logs and 
return, often reaching home late at night. One day, 
running to assist some one in trouble, Daniel laid his 
mittens on a log and forgot them. The mittens were 
lost and Daniel, on reaching home, confessed his fault 
to his Elder and to the young sister who had charge of 
his clothes, saying, "I have lost my mittens, and now, 
I will not wear any more mittens, this winter !" "Yea, 
you will too!" she replied and gave him another warm 
pair, but he declared he would wear no more mittens that 
winter, because of his carelessness. "I do not know 
whether he did or not," said the gray-haired sister who 
told the tale, "but it was never necessary to punish Daniel, 
he would always punish himstelf." This he continued, 
with ever deepening sorrow and self-condemnation for 
every mistake, during the fifty-five years of his Shaker 
life, until the angels took him to themselves. Opportuni- 
ties for education were few in that day for farmer boys, 
and this Shaker lad in his teens had but a few weeks for 
study in the winter school for boys. He improved his 
time to the uttermost, but it was a bitter memory that the 
days of his school-life were so few. 

A letter, dated November 6th. 1859, revealing in its 
boyish expressions the character of the mature man, is 
addressed to 

"Beloved Elder Frederick : 
"i feel to express my determination to you that I will 



142 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



be more faithful to build and support the temporal things 
that pertain to the increase and welfare of my good 
brethren and sisters. I love them and I love my beloved 
Elders, who teach me how to find a fruitful travel in 
the gospel. I thank Brother Timothy for the good in- 
structions I receive from time to time. I shall be six- 
teen years old next Friday, and feel as though I was 
coming to years of understanding, in which I ought to 
be gaining a knowledge of the principles of the gospel, 
and to practice them more and more in my daily life, and, 
when I have opportunity to help others to a knowledge 
and to the practice of them, so far as I do myself, I will 
take it. I do not want to be selfish in anything, but to 
crucify a selfish nature in whatever shape it may ap- 
pear. I feel thankful for the order of confession, as it 
is established in Zion, and I shall obey this and even- 
other gospel order. I testify that a full and honest con- 
fession of every known sin does not bring shame and 
confusion,~"but peace and satisfaction to the soul. I 
promise that I will be good and I think we all mean to 
be. I remain your son, Daniel OfTord/' 

A letter from Elder Frederick to him reveals the source 
of many traits of character very prominent in his matur- 
ity. He writes : 

"My dear child, Daniel Offord : 

"You request me to write you a prayer on paper. 
Prayer, my son. has been thus defined, — 

"Prayer is the heart's sincere desire, 
Uttered or unexpressed ; 
The motion of a hidden fire, 
That glows within the breast. 

"God is all good, man is not all good, prayer is the 
chain that unites them together, bringing man into favor 
with God, by making him good as God is good. So 
when you feel a desire, Daniel, to be more good than 



A P&AYFRFUL SjPIRIT. 



143 



you now are, you may think it, breathe it or utter it in 
some form of words, and that is prayer. But the thought, 
the breath and the words are only the clothing of your 
prayer, the same as what you have on is the clothing 
of your body. 

"Consider, therefore, my dear boy, what the want oi 
your soul is. First, you need, as this request, which you 
are so simple as to prefer shows, the spirit of prayer, 
that is, good desires, fervent, anxious desires to be a 
better and more truly religious boy than you now are. 

"You may then pray in this wise: 'Heavenly Father 
and Mother, send holy spirits to give me good and 
pure desires. A desire for a true and lively faith in spir- 
itual gifts. A desire for death by mortification to all 
fleshly sensations. A desire for an obedient, childlike 
spirit towards my Elders, caretakers and brethren and 
sisters in the gospel, and a meek, patient, just and lov- 
ing spirit towards my young companions. May I be 
moved to avoid their faults and to copy their virtues. 
I pray that the spirits of the just, who have been made 
perfect by obedience to the truth, will fill me with zeal 
in the worship of God, by inspiring me to keep at all 
times and in every place, a constant memory of my 
accountability to those who watch for my soul, that thus 
in meeting, I may be free from all guilt and condem- 
nation. 

" 'Thus let me always pray, 

By having none but good desires ; 
Still travelling in the light of day 
Through truthful, sin-consuming fires.' 
"Receive this with my kind love, 

"Frederick/" 

Living in the same family with his father, the ten- 
dency to perpetuate the natural tie of affection and 
mutual confidence was realized by him as a hindrance to 
true spiritual obedience and growth, and, in hia young 



144 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



manhood, he wrote to William a long and remarkable 
letter on this subject, addressing him, "Kind Friend and 
Brother in Christ/' Among his thoughts are these: "My 
mind has been exercised upon the two* orders through 
which all souls travel that are called by the gospel — the 
natural and the spiritual. All are born into the natural 
order, but only those who are called by the gospel travel 
into the spiritual. Some come to the gospel when young, 
and have to travel to the natural when in the gospel. It 
grows with their growth and all the ties and affections 
of nature rise up in that soul drawing it to its natural 
relation. The earthly relation soon dissolves, in its most 
orderly state. Now I feel that I am called to forsake 
this order and enter into the spiritual order and follow 
the example of Jesus. Although called to the gospel 
while young, in childhood, yet, I have to forsake and 
hate father and mother, wife and children, as really as 
you, who have been father and had a wife, for the ele- 
ments of these are all in me, they grow as I grow and 
would bring forth fruit, if I do not bear the cross of 
Christ and hate them, and labor to feel a joining to the 
resurrection order above the order of nature. 

"I feel the time has come for me to be cut off the 
field of nature, and to make a clean separation from 
my soul of the ties and affections of the old order of 
father and son, and devote all my faculties and powers 
to attain to the resurrection of a new life in Christ. Hav- 
ing been called by the gospel, I must act consistent with 
the gospel; it is of no use trying to carry along the nat- 
ural with the! spiritual. In so doing, I am between the 
heaven and the earth. The spiritual is above the natural 
and they cannot be mixed any more than oil and water. 

"The order established on earth, where souls by strict 
obedience may have salvation from sin, and power to 
govern every imagination of the heart and bring into 
captivity every thought into obedience to the law of 



Walking in the Light. 



145 



Christ, — this order is manifested through a Visible Lead 
and here is where obedience is required. By walking in 
the light, or, in other words, by doing, thinking, speak- 
ing or hearing nothing but what is known of the lead 
and can! be blest by the lead (this is my understanding 
of walking in the light), we are protected from the power 
of temptation and are joined to the resurrection spheres. 
God can only protect souls in obedience. He has placed 
an order on earth where in obedience we find protection. 
All conversation which tends to draw the feelings from 
the visible lead in the order of God tends in other direc- 
tions, a step in nature. Let us live to our profession, 
and let the old relation of father and son im nature be 
remembered no more forever; but let us become as good 
children, gathering in love to our new father, building- 
up a new relation that will endure when time is no. more. 
This is my simple gospel faith and, come what may, I 
will bow my body, soul and spirit in humble submis- 
sion thereto." 

When Brother Timothy Rayson, associate of Elder 
Frederick Evans, was removed to the Eldership in an- 
other family, Daniel Offord was appointed his successor. 
He had in his care many boys and young brethren. He 
was devoted to them and they loved him in return. He 
had oversight of the teams and in his training of the 
young brethren for teamsters, his care of little things and 
his thoughtful consideration for others is manifest in a 
code of rules which he drew up for the guidance of be- 
ginners. They are worthy of a place in every stable, or 
wherever horses come under the control of human beings. 
Some of the rules contain principles on which he based 
his dealings with human beings as well as horses. "When 
taking out the team, especially in the morning," he says, 
"be extra patient ahd gentle, for they are then the most 
full of life, which life should be directed and guided 
fey the teamster, not provoked by impatience into ugli- 



146 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



ness." — "Remember, it is with harness as with your own 
clothes, a stitch in time will often save much loss." — 
"Govern your own spirit, if you would have proper con- 
trol of your horse. Never strike a horse when you are 
out of temper. Reprove your own self, then you will 
succeed much better in training your horse," Naturally 
possessed of a quick, impatient temper, he early gained 
self-control and in after years was remarkable for his 
patient, kind disposition, holding* nis firm self-control in 
the most trying and vexing circumstances. "I covenant 
to look out for the little things," was his vow, when 
many united in a covenant of specific consecration, and 
he never forgot it. 

He was fond of children, keenly observant of them 
and interested in their affairs and pleasures, often saving 
for them his share of fruits or confections from the table. 
His patient kindness met with a warm return of affection 
from boys and girls alike. "We have now a company 
of eight boys," he once wrote, "and we have plenty of 
music, not all in harmony or perfect unison. One good 
Elder is reported as saying that agitation is better than 
stagnation, and so we think. We take children and we 
try to make good, noble men and women of them and, 
if possible, permanent members of our order. Blessed 
be the children, and the Kingdom of Heaven will never 
be without them!" 

Of unusual mechanical gifts, by careful study of the 
scientific journals that came in his way, and improving 
every opportunity to learn of practical mechanicians, he 
became equipped with knowledge and skill to do nearly 
all the plumbing, steam-fitting and machine work on the 
place, by no means an inconsiderable task. Boilers, pipes 
that underlie miles of mountain land, machinery that 
makes light the labors of house and farm, steam radiators 
$f a half-century's use, sawmill, water and steam power 
wherever needed, — all are the work of his active brain 



Always a Vegetarian. 



and busy hands. The care of steam-pipes in cold winter 
nights, when others were asleep, was never forgotten nor 
neglected, the gleam of his lantern, as he went swiftly 
from place to place over the wide domain, might be 
seen in the small hours, but never a sound to disturb 
another, or a complaint when the next day's strenuous 
duties found him weary with watching and care. 

A vegetarian from early childhood, he was a strong 
supporter of the principles instilled by Frederick Evans, 
Daniel Fraser, Anna White, and others. The reservoir 
above the house, about 600 feet distant, constructed in 
1876, with pipes connecting with a distant pond and 
leading the water to dwellings, barns and laundry, was 
largely his work. At the time of its construction, Elder 
Hervey Eads, of, Kentucky, a strong advocate of the 
meat diet, was on a visit to Mount Lebanon and, as 
usual, he and Elder Frederick had strenuous disputations 
on diet and theology. Strolling up the hill to see the 
new reservoir, where Brother Daniel, with a force of 
men and boys, was laying the walls, himself doing the 
work of any three, Elder Hervey watched the slight, 
active figure and finally burst out, "Brother Daniel, where 
do you get your tremendous strength?" Quick as a flash 
came the answer, — "From fruits, vegetables and fari- 
nacea !" 

"It seems to me," he writes, "so rational that a people 
living a spiritual, angelic life in thought and imagination 
should have a diet that corresponds with their soul food 
and a business that is in harmony with the angelic life of 
the gospel we are called to live. Everything about the 
slaughtering of animals is repulsive to the finer feeliagf 
of the soul, and a fruitful source of disease to our mor- 
tal bodies, which should be full of health, without a mark 
of Egypt upon them. Then should we truly honor and 
glorify God in our bodies. 

"I trust that before we reach the next c*ntury-pott, 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



there will be a Christian people on the earth who will 
have learned to prepare food in far greater perfection 
without the products of the dairy and the hen-yard, than 
is now done with them. The subject is worthy the con- 
sideration of all who are striving to live according to the 
Golden Rule and the Law of Love. Peace on Earth and 
Goodwill exercised toward all will never be realized until 
the diet of the people is changed. When humanity of 
the past was in Eden, fruits and grains were their por- 
tion. When Eden is restored, will it not be the same?" 

Another theme on which Elder Daniel had strong con- 
victions and felt deeply was the hired labor among Be- 
lievers. "I should like to see," he wrote during Elder 
Frederick's second mission to England, in 1887, "the 
Shaker Order started in England and Scotland on a 
strictly vegetarian basis. — the people over there are ready 
for it, and without hired help. The hireling system in a 
community is antagonistic to the growth of Christian 
Brotherhood ; hence destructive of our Christian Com- 
munity." 

The garden, of which he sometimes had the care, was 
very suggestive to him of moral and spiritual experiences. 
"It is very easy to find excuses for the weeds growing 
and for this, that and the other, but these oftentimes 
make matters worse. This laying to Providence or the 
weather, what properly belongs to our carelessness and 
after-thought, is hardly the thing. Let the truth stand, 
though it reveals all our crooked ways. I love straight 
rows, clean of weeds, and neatly kept borders. They 
make it easier to be good." 

"Make good resolutions and carry them out. They 
help the growth of virtue in the soul and are as gentle 
breezes or rays of sunshine, or as showers that often 
fall upon tender plants. Some persons make good reso- 
lutions, but not attaining to perfection at once, become 
discouraged and think it is of no use to k*ep making 



"Search Out the Cause. 



149 



resolutions, which are likely to be broken, and that it is 
ouly telling falsehoods and does no good. Shall we, be- 
cause one gentle breeze, or one ray of sunshine, or one 
single shower does not produce a crop, say it does no 
good? No one would be so foolish. Because one reso- 
lution fails to bring us into possession of any particular 
virtue, shall we therefore cease to strive? Nay! God 
looks at the heart and the intent of the soul, therefore, 
let us make good resolutions and keep them, renew and 
keep renewing, till we attain to that to which we as- 
pire." 

Elder Daniel's simple habits and active life kept him 
in good health, although he had a naturally weak diges- 
tion and, as the issue proved, a tendency to heart trouble. 
He had strong convictions on the duty of keeping well, 
and of spiritual causes underlying all physical and tem- 
poral happenings. "Search out the cause, effects always 
follow cause," was his oft repeated injunction. 

"The weather, oh the weather, the like was never known 
before !" he wrote, one season of peculiar manifestations. 
"What a story we that are young will have to tell in the 
next century. If this world and the weather are only 
the effects of spiritual causes, what reformation in the 
world of cause will have to take place before our earth 
will be a paradise. We need not wait to die (pass out 
of the mortal body) to enter the spiritual world of cause. 
There are many now upon the earth, who are laboring 
to remove spiritual causes, that the dire effects mani- 
fested on earth in human conditions may cease. When 
this is done, no doubt the weather and all other un- 
profitable conditions will be greatly improved." 

Again, "The writer is in the healing apartments, hav- 
ing fallen under the weather, of which we have had a 
great abundance, but was mercifully picked up and landed 
clear of the storm; is now about ready for another battle 
with wind and tide and whatever else constitutes the 



Elder Daniel Of ford 



weather. I cannot stay long under conditions in which 
I have no faith, and against which I am fighting to the 
best of my ability. As we grow in understanding, we 
more and more realize that effects follow cause, and, 
if we are not prompt to remove the first cause, the effects 
become cause for other effects, and, if we are unwise, we 
go from bad to worse, in geometrical ratio. No other way 
can a wise, soul pursue, than to remove the first cause* 
To practice what of truth we know will lead us to the 
fount whence all truth doth flow. As the practice of 
truth is' the only thing that will make us free, there is 
no hope of salvation only in obedience. 

"We realize that the gospel is not as yet manifest in 
its perfection. We are longing and working for a re- 
newed baptism of gospel life, fire and light. It needs 
a good deal of divine wisdom to discern the truth, and 
more simplicity to acknowledge it when presented. Nothing 
but a genuine love for truth will enable anyone to accept 
and obey it. Who can possibly have this love, but those 
whose lives are made straight by being squared in ac- 
cordance with the Golden Rule? 

"What a glorious sight it will be upon this earth, — 
a body of people living in a section of country where the 
weeds are all subdued, where there are no destructive ani- 
mals or insects, where the seasons come in perfect har- 
mony and where the people have complete control not 
only of their spirits but of their bodies. No accidents, 
no sickness, no premature death and no burdensome old 

His own grasp of the spiritual reality underlying physi- 
cal expressions of life and activity was so strong, that 
ke was carried safely through many crises which might 
have been serious accidents. Once, when trimming trees, 
the high branch on which he stood, broke, precipitating 
him to the ground. His companions thought him killed, 
but lie was conscious of resting quietly in the arms #f 



I Practice Should Accord with Principle. 151 

Elder Richard Bushnell, and rose from the ground un- 
harmed and tin jarred. Falling through an open trap- 
door, in the dark, a considerable distance, he was again 
uninjured. In the most dark and stormy nights, he 
would go alone over the slippery path to flume and water- 
gates, and, whatever the danger that threatened, he was 
always ready fearlessly to face it, prepared to do what 
he could. "We ought to be in such a spiritual receptive 
condition that we could always heed the admonitions of 
our good guardian spirits and thus bring the science 
of spiritualism into practical use. There are no accidents 
in Christ, Truth." 

"There ought to be wisdom to discern," he said at 
another time, "between practice and principle, and whether 
our practices are in accord with or in violation of our 
gospel principles. If we come to a knowledge that our 
practice violates a principle essential to our salvation, 
spiritual or physical, we ought to possess enough of the 
power of self-denial to cease such practices, and not go 
blundering along, stumbling at the cross. Salvation* and 
protection from the power of sin and self-indulgence 
that leads to sickness, disease and death, physically 
or spiritually^ should be our constant aim." 

In January, 1890, he wrote: "We have recently put 
up a private telephone line through our village, reaching 
to Canaan. All who will, of the families, can now hitch 
on and make our bond of union stronger. I have been 
thinking that in the near future, we should have a tangible 
line between this our world and the summer land we sing 
about." 

Elder Daniel was much interested in the schools and 
in the training of children. "The subject of education/* 
he said, "is one that all who take an interest in the ris- 
ing generation should study and exercise their minds upon. 
The whole everyday life of our community is industrial 
education, and it is firstrate ; but industrial education, 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



practiced mechanically, is drudgery in its lowest sense, 
even when exercised in that which is congenial. While 
that which would usually be termed menial, if mind 
and brain be brought to bear upon it, becomes interest- 
ing and elevating. No labor, however disagreeable, if 
its end is use, is in any way dishonorable. But when 
the necessity of the labor is scientifically understood, 
the disagreeable is largely diminished. Our district or 
home schools should be so conducted that they will instill 
into the minds of the pupils the light of understanding, 
and made so interesting that the children will drink 
in by absorption. What a child understands, it will 
remember, what is learned mechanically, is soon for- 
gotten." 

"To really enjoy life, we want to have a high ideal, 
something we can look up to and be working toward. 
It is the inspiration of our lives. It is that which dis- 
tinguishes man from the animal. I love to have the 
angel come down and trouble? the waters, it gives oppor- 
tunity for exercise and the power to do good. Life is 
a continual problem, solved one day at a time." 

"I should like to see a Village Improvement Associa- 
tion," he said more than once, "started in our societies, 
so as to cultivate in a practical way a genuine public 
spirit. Have a union labor week, to improve and beauti- 
fy the village, and the roads and road-sides. To cast 
up a highway and gather out the stones, nor have our 
sight hurt by noxious weeds and briers, that ought to 
be dealt with as the tares of old." Often he would say, 
"Let the light shine through all our works, financially, 
as well as morally and spiritually." 

His attitude towards sisters and women generally was 
that of the spiritual father and brother— the true son 
of the divine. His devotion to the truth of the Mother- 
hood in God made his conduct toward Her visible repre- 
sentative one of reverent, tender consideration. To all 



He Saw Goodness and Kindness. 153 

sisters, he was a thoughtful, care-taking protector. One 
of the Mothers in Israel suffering from the effects of a 
chill in' riding, he wrote: "Let all our aged friends learn 
from her experience, when passing from the warm cars, 
to ride in the open air, to put on warm wraps ; and we, 
that are young, whose duty it is to convey our gospel 
friends from place to place, should not forget the extra 
wraps, and, when possible, provide a covered carriage 
with noble, trusty steeds attached. When long journeys 
are to be taken, a warm soapstone will be very accept- 
able. These should be heated in the oven and not on a 
hot stove. By so doing, they will not get hot enough 
to burn." His filial devotion to Eldress Anna White, in 
her declining years, was beautiful to see, manifesting the 
loving, reverent kindness of a true son in the gospel. 

After some difficult and dangerous work, like harvest- 
ing the ice or cutting the ensilage, he would express in 
the tenderest manner his gratitude for the protection from 
accident, and to his helpers for their kind, courteous 
spirit, and, if no oaths had slipped from the lips of any 
of the hired helpers, he was sure to notice it gratefully. 
When he went to a public gathering, or visited a dis- 
tant city, he never seemed to see any of the disagree- 
able elements of life, but would come home filled to 
his soul's brim with the good things he had seen, the 
kindness met on the street, in crowded stations and sub- 
ways, and the universal goodwill he saw practiced on every 
hand. No one who once looked into> his clear, loving 
eyes, could have said anything but a kindly word to him. 
He read of untoward conditions and thought much of 
them and their remedy, but, when abroad among men, 
he could see only the goodness and kindness in the 
world. 

He was greatly interested in the work of that cham- 
pion of the children and the common people, Judge Ben 
Lindsay, of Denver, reading with absorbed attention and 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



deep feeling everything that came in his way about the 
Juvenile Court and the life of its founder. Other great 
leaders of the life of the time, who met all men on the 
basis of the Golden Rule and the Brotherhood of man, 
were often spoken of in most tender and appreciative 
manner. It was a delight to him to watch the growth 
in practical life of the principle of dealing with all men 
and women as brothers and sisters, children of the One 
Father and Mother. The boys of the Berkshire Farm 
and all lads and lassies everywhere were subjects of 
thought and kindly feeling. The tramp, who came shiv- 
ering through the snow, was taken in and cared for like a 
long-lost brother, and the poor man who had no other 
friend, knew him as the one who would remember and 
help. One to whom he had yearly sent substantial assist- 
ance, said, "What shall I do, how can I get through the 
winter, wihtout his kind care? 

The kindly spirit of the gospel, the universal love it 
inculcates, had in him free course. He was ever sending 
out his thought of love and cheer to all in Zion. Often 
would he call for the old song to be sung, to those far 
away, his rich, strong voice holding the shout at the 
end, till it seemed as if it might reach the most remote: 

"We'll waft a waft of love through Zion, 

To our kindred everywhere, 
We'll shout a shout of gospel blessing, 

That angels on their wings will bear. 
Over mountain, over valley, 

Over plain and flowing rill, 
We'll extend the gift of union 

Till our kindred it doth fill/' 

"To all, far and near, in our Zion home, we say peace 

and everlasting love. 
To those not yet in the fold, come, for the Lord hath 
need of thee." 



"The Brightest Spots in My Lim" 15$ 



"The brightest spots in my life," he said, "are the blessed 
experiences with gospel friends, in our spiritual meetings. 
They are the living springs from fountains that never 
fail. If the amount of good done by Believers through 
their public meetings could be summed up, what a mighty 
pile there would be! So we will toil on and pray on, 
sow early and late, and never forget the assembling of 
ourselves together." Nor did he, — never too weary and 
worn, too over-burdened by hard work and care, long 
hours and wearisome duties, to join in the servk* of 
song and testimony. 

Looking out upon the condition of churches and so- 
ciety at large, he said, "It seems to be a time! of great 
agitation in the world of ideas, but very little inclination 
to settle down to practical, unselfish right-doing. We 
are bearing aloft the gospel testimony, which is truth. 
It is mighty and will prevail. It is a matter for heart- 
felt gratitude that we have no cast-iron creed to keep 
the soul from growing into a more perfect knowledge 
of the truth, continually. Above all peoples should we 
be the most free, and the most willing to acknowledge 
truth wherever it is manifested. Is there any other 
way we can come in unity of faith unto perfect men and 
women, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of 
Christ? 

"We certainly are living in very extraordinary times, 
and a mighty revolution is upon us. The conditions 
are upon us that will try men's souls and women's, too. 
Everything, external and internal, is calling for energy 
and the consecration of our best talents. No time to 
waste in dreaming or vain speculation. The revela- 
tion of truth and the application of it to everyday life 
is the only thing that will save from sin and bring the 
kingdom of righteousness in the earth. They that do 
right are righteous; those who compromise with wrong 
for expedience or worldly advantage are heaping up fuel 



156 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



that will burn only to their discomfort. Let us be care- 
ful, watchful and prayerful. 

"The, year is drawing to a close. I wish all my gospel 
friends a healthy, temperate Thanksgiving, a truly Pente- 
costal Christmas and a New Year filled with the glory 
of God's summer that has passed and the harvest that 
has ended. We have many things to be thankful for, a 
few to regret, which in the coming year we hope to 
improve; and some bright hopes that fill our souls with 
courage and determination to work more faithfully and 
bring about that good thing which will make this earth 
a paradise and thus fulfill the prayer of the Saviour. 
We see many changes which we desire should be made 
for the better understanding of our gospel, and for the 
further development of our pure and holy faith. Is 
there any better way to bring it about than by just go- 
ing to work and doing it?" This was ever his attitude. 
"Let us all go to work and do it. Think, feel, speak 
and do the right. Square our lives by the Golden Rule. 
Live the gospel of Jesus and Mother." 

At one time, a subject of much thought and some ex- 
periment in the family was that of the milk diet. Elder 
Daniel gave it a trial for one year, when, convinced that 
for him it was not entirely satisfactory, he gave it 
up. The first week of the trial, he kept a record of his 
meals and the work done. The tale of long hours and 
hard labor was the record not of one week alone, but of 
the fifty- two of his every working year. The record 
reads : 

"Experience With Milk Diet. 

"Started on Monday, September 25th. Weighed myself 
in shirt, pants and feetings. 108 pounds. For break- 
fast drank one and one-half pints of milk, not new. Also 
took a little whole wheat pudding with cream. Dinner, 



A Year of Milk Diet. 



157 



one and one-half pints milk, not new, with two pieces of 
Graham bread with a little apple-sauce, sugar and cream. 
Supper, the same as for dinner. Felt very comfortable 
all day. Up at 3:30 a. m. Worked at the ensilage and 
did not spare myself in the least Felt no lack of 
strength or any faintnesi. 

"26th. Breakfast, Graham crackers instead of pudding, 
dinner and supper the same as yesterday. Work the 
same and a little harder. Up at about the same time 
and retire after 9 p. m. 

"27th. Breakfast, one and one-half pints of new milk, 
with a few graham, crackers. Dinner and supper, milk 
and a little pear sauce and cream ; worked at the barn. 

"28th. Breakfast, dinner and supper the same. Work 
the same. 

"29th. Breakfast, about one quart of new milk. Noth- 
ing else. Dinner, about one quart of milk, not new, with 
a little sauce and cream, supper the same. Worked 
hard at the barn. Rose 3 130, retired after 9. 

"30th. The same as yesterday, only omitted all solid 
food. 

"October 1st. Nothing but milk and a little sauce and 
cream. Nearly every night have taken just before re- 
tiring about one andj one-half pints of milk. 

"Saturday night, I felt fine. Sabbath afternoon, felt 
quite lame in my back and began to think I could not 
attend the ensilage business. 

"2nd. A little lame in the back. Breakfast, had one 
quart or nearly that of new milk. Find cold milk is 
not quite so good. Nothing to-day but milk and a little 
sauce with cream and sugar. Worked very hard, but did 
not rise till 5 a. m. 

"3rd. Lameness all gone, feel fine. Milk one and 
one-half pints, a little sauce and cream." [His weight 
increased under the milk regimen and he found himself 
in good health during the year.] 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



When the experience of Eldress Anna brought Christian 
Science into prominence in the family, Elder Daniel was 
prepared to accept its teachings and, as far as the feel- 
ings of others permitted, to make it a subject of thought 
and study in the family. His demonstrations of its prin- 
ciples upon himself and others and even upon the ani- 
mals in the barns, were of a remarkable character, but, 
although he was often inclined to plead the cause with 
opposing minds, he was very slow to give an account 
of the cures wrought through his agency in its practice. 
He never gave up the study of "Science and Health." 

Deficiencies in early education he made up as far as 
possible by painstaking habits of reading and observation. 
His sense of right and his love for humanity made him 
a reformer in the truest sense. Seeing beyond the veil 
of phenomena, he would first square his own soul with the 
law of Absolute Truth and Love, then help clear the 
vision and strengthen the wills of all whom he could 
influence. His clear thought, straightforward expression 
and fervent spirit made his writings lucid and interest- 
ing, his public utterances convincing, impressive and in- 
spiring. In his thorough manner, he took up the study 
of music, becoming a correct and able leader and for 
many years conducted the service of song in the public 
worship. His voice in song as in testimony was a clear, 
rich and inspiring instrument for the use of the Spirit. 

In all mechanical emergencies through the village, Elder 
Daniel was the helper to whom appeal was made and 
never was he too busy or hard-pressed to respond. His 
time and .his teams were at the disposal of any one who 
desired conveyance, and for visitors to the village he was 
always ready to furnish conveyance and transportation. 
His sense of consecration to the communistic brother- 
hood and sisterhood reached to the most practical and 
common affairs. 

In counsel, he was careful, conscientiously studying 



Unselfish Brotherhood in Righteousness. 159 

conditions, fearlessly frank in expression of his convic- 
tions, his judgment sound and his conclusions generally 
reliable. But his viewpoint was that of the moral idealist, 
the man who looked for unselfish brotherhood in right- 
eousness, not that of worldly advantage or the shrewd- 
ness of the man of mere business relations on the plane 
of selfish acquisition. 

Appointed to lead the worship in society meetings, he 
prepared himself with what pains and care his many 
temporal duties would permit, and his strong, searching 
testimony on themes suggested by public issues or so- 
ciety needs was ever from the deepest convictions of his 
honest, unselfish, truth-loving heart. For many years, one 
of the burden-bearers in the society, he read with true 
insight the conditions and needs of all the societies, and 
his soul was many times bowed to the earth in sorrow 
over the saddening conditions in which he read the sure 
effects of spiritual causes far back in the years. That 
so few were willing to correct the errors of the past by 
more strenuous effort, by foundation building to the line 
and plummet of truth and righteousness to-day, was a 
constant surprise and grief. 

He wrote to a friend in 1908: "Have you seen and 
talked to Elder Frederick, lately? He has been thought 
of considerable, and to-day in meeting one had the im- 
pression that he wished to communicate something, but 
we are so absorbed in material things that we cannot 
clearly understand what or where. We are passing 
through an experience that I think is preparatory to 
something that is to f ollow, which will bring great changes 
in our order. What those changes will be, none can tell 
till the times are fulfilled. A few things we are sure of: 
that the few in our order, who are bearing the burden, 
are nearing the time when they will take their exit from 
the scenes of time, and none are in the range of our 
vision who can take their places. We know that princi- 



160 Elder Daniel Offord. 

pies remain the same always, but how can they be mani- 
fested, materialized, except through some agency? Mar- 
velous things are transpiring every day in the material 
world, that a few years ago we should have declared im- 
possible. Yet the principles by which they are accom- 
plished have always existed. We trust there is that go- 
ing on in the spiritual realm equally as wonderful. O 
for a look into the future ! It would make the duty of 
to-day clear. We can look into the future and have a 
mental vision of the inevitable, the passing away of the 
present leaders. But who can see the builders of the 
new order, that Elder Frederick in days gone by told so 
much about. Where is the prophet of the Lord, the 
anointed one to cast up the highway and make the paths 
straight for the ransomed to walk in?" 

In the busy days of 1909, he wrote: "I never had such 
a busy time in all my life, that I can remember. One 
thing following another in such quick succession, that 
it is with great labor and care that I can steer clear 
of confusion and difficulties that are constantly arising. 
But, thanks be to the Divine Power that over-rules and 
is always a 'present help in trouble !' " 

In February, 1910, he writes: 

"We have just passed through a severe snowstorm, or 
rather, a great snowstorm has just passed us. On Satur- 
day morning, was the greatest blow I think we have 
had this winter. We have not had such a winter in 
our mountains in many years. But we have a good 
supply of coal and a large supply of wood, and I think 
we have abundant opportunity to exercise ourselves in 
patience and gratitude. Human nature is about the same 
to-day as it was when the Children of Israel were jour- 
neying through the wilderness. What are we going to 
do about it? I see no better way to do than to be 
good. As one of our very old hymns expresses it. 



A Friend of the Working Man. in 

"We'll rise in the morning, 
Pray let us take warning, 

And do as we've often been told; 
Our zeal be renewing, 
Our journey pursuing, 

And put away all that is old. 
Then Mother will own us, 
And love us and bless us, 

And give us a robe that is white; 
We'll wear it; we'll wear it, 
For Mother's prepared it, 

To give to such souls as do right." 

Memories of his beautiful life and inspiring personality 
enrich the home he loved. His kindly services were not 
limited to his own family or society, but wherever he 
could be of use, there hands and brain were busy. To 
his neighbors, he was generous and brotherly. At his 
funeral service, working-men crowded the room and tears 
were shed by many a strong, hard-working man, who felt 
that in Daniel Offord he had lost a friend such as the 
world would never give again. 

His bright smile, his clear, far-seeing eyes, his noble 
head and grand forehead, the mighty soul animating a 
slender frame, — sparing of food, sparing of words, but 
lavish of strength and toil, all for others, never for him- 
self. All through the years, his light, quick, noiseless 
step about the house, in the sense of the home as it had 
been consecrated, a dwelling-place for the redeemed liv- 
ing in the Sacred Presence of the Divine, he seemed 
often more of spirit than man. His strong, rich voice, 
lifting the grand old testimonial songs of the faith — 
that rich heritage of Believers, now being fast taken back, 
with these last children of the light, to the heavens of 
inspiration whence they came. The cheery, hopeful smile, 
With which he met all the issues of the last busy years, 



162 



Elbe* Daniel Offord. 



the grief-stricken heart he bore, when his beloved Mother 
in the gospel left him, the brave giving of his strength 
to the ever-crowding demands of the time, in the effort 
to fill in all the vacant places, the patient, forgiving spirit 
when reviled and persecuted, smitten and deserted by 
those to whom he had given love and prayer and gentle 
teaching, — all, and more than can be told in words of 
earthly speech, live unforgotten in the hearts of those 
who honored and loved him. 

One thing only he could not do, — care for, spare him- 
self. With aching hearts his people saw the sacrifice go 
on and were powerless to hinder or prevent. He met 
the last call as he wished, — "Not to be sick, but to work 
right up to the last moment, then, — Go!" Thus, on that 
bright February day, when all in the home were busy, 
unseeing and unheeding, he heard the angels call him. 
dropped the mortal and was gone. 

"He That Loseth His Life for My Sake Shall Find It." 
Matt. 10:39. 

While many are bringing heartfelt tributes to the 
memory of one so richly worthy, I would touch but a few 
points in a, life about which volumes might be written. 
All readers of Social Science are aware of the argument 
against communistic life, on the ground that competition, 
with love of private property and family, are essential 
to the highest exertion and fullest development of the 
faculties. 

Those who thus plead can have no conception of the 
exquisite delight in service and wonderful power of en- 
durance where self is forgotten and all endeavor is stimu- 
lated by holy ideals and the love of kindred hearts. Of 
this, the life of Elder Daniel OrTord was a remarkable 
demonstration. 

For the mere accumulation of money or the support of 



He Made of Every Duty An Act of Worship. 163 

private family, did ever any man work as Elder Daniel 
worked with heart and brain and hand, and, with such 
limited opportunities, develop faculties so diversified for 
service of such high order? 

Not' a turn can be made over our extensive premises 
but are found comforts and substantial improvements 
attesting to his skill and loving devotion. His high offi- 
cial position for so many years, with power to direct and 
apportion the work of others, has never deterred him 
from personal toil in any laborious service. He never 
shirked the muddy ditch or sooty flue, and whatever 
task was disagreeable or hard for another, that was the 
one he chose for himself, No work was menial, for his 
intelligence, self-sacrifice and consecration made of every 
duty an act of worship. 

During the fifty years in which our principal buildings 
have been heated by steam, especially in severe weather 
his nights were shortened, that in earliest calls to duty, 
our rooms should always be comfortable. Did he know 
of any one being on duty watching over the sick? In 
the still hours of the night, careful that none should be 
disturbed, fires were renewed, water heated, or any 
thoughtful kindness rendered. When falling mercury 
warned of danger to water-pipes or stores of provisions, 
often the whole night was passed in making iires here 
and there, or otherwise protecting from injury. In furi- 
ous storms, when dams were in danger, or overflowing 
streams threatened floods, he found his way to reservoir 
gates or, heaving aside the massing debris, turned the 
swift waters in a safe course; in continual watch in all 
the liabilities of danger to the premises, he was verily 
a guardian angel of great might. 

No self-indulging dissipations were ever permitted. 
Over every passion of mind and body, he held the most 
rigid control. The baptism of which Jesus spake is as 
the fire of the alchemist turning baser metals into gofd. 



Elder Daniel Offorp. 



The strongest passions and forces of nature are thus 
utilized on the plane of higher, spiritual activities. In our 
Brother, these baptisms were often renewed, through deep 
labor of soul. In the meager way in which he provided 
for himself and the energy and thoroughness in which 
he planned and wrought for the future, he lived by that 
injunction of our Founder, which he often quoted: "Do 
your work as though you expected to live a thousand 
years and as though you were to die to-morrow." 

He was severely critical relative to his own short- 
comings, but noble, frank and humble in acknowledg- 
ment had he consciously or unconsciously wronged or 
grieved another. Magnanimous and forgiving, never re- 
taliating or permitting himself to hold hard feelings, 
though sensitive and often deeply wounded. 

Realizing the Divine Oneness, that all were the chil- 
dren of One Parentage, with the same human needs, his 
sympathies and efforts were not confined to home inter- 
ests. If he failed in reasonable care for himself, it 
was because, with his intensely energetic temperament, his 
keen eye for improvements and his unselfish nature, he 
saw so much to be done, and he counted not his life 
dear except for such service as would bring more of 
heaven to earth. 

He walked in the truth as upon a sea of glass. His 
faith was as a diamond's glow, his purity as a stainless 
robe, his religion, self-renunciation. He grandly gave 
his life and has found the life eternal. 

Eldress M. Catherine Allen, 

Mount Lebanon. N. Y. 

I went to Mount Lebanon, the first time, out of curi- 
osity: I went afterward, again and again, out of love for 
its inmates. Chief of them all were Eldress Anna White, 
whose pure, luminous soul shone out through every look 
and action ; and Elder Daniel Offord, apostle of accuracy 
and caretaking. 

Will Carleton. 



LOVIXG SERVICE. 



All That He Taught, He Lived. 165 



II 

IN MEMORY. 

THE first thoughts that come to mind at this time 
are of grief and a deep sense of loss. The 
passing out of .our midst of our brother is the 
heaviest blow that could befall. We know that 
the spirit of sympathy in our loss is deeply felt by those 
outside of the home circle, for how many have shared 
in his broad unselfish spirit of brotherly helpfulness ! 

But, we are not here to mourn or give utterance to 
our sorrow, but rather to be glad that the blessing and 
presence of such a noble character has been ours so 
long, and that his memory may be ours forever. Truly, 
our brother has exemplified the best gifts, an 'intarnished 
soul, a high sense of duty and consecration. We knew 
that he lived for principles of right as far as he could 
see them, we therefore trusted him. We felt that he 
was above all mean grasping and we respected him. We 
knew that he was unselfish, ready to give his life for 
others, we therefore loved him. 

If any one has fulfilled the commandment to love the 
Lord our God with all our heart and mind and strength 
and our neighbor as ourself, it is our departed brother. 
How his moral precepts came home to us ; how his ideals 
of righteousness appealed to us; how his faith and trust 
in God inspired us! And all that he taught, he lived. 
But the star of his character was his unselfish devotion. 
No duty too heavy, no task too menial, to perform for 
the good of all. Truly we may say of him, he went 
about doing good. 

Such a life was so much needed amongst us: and 
with dimmed eyes and dumb lips, we know not what to 
say, but feel that we must have that waiting and trust- 
ing spirit, that we call faith in God, knowing that the 



166 Elder Daniel Offwrb. 

higher life of the immortals has claimed him. And may 
we not see him, with strong, brave hands uplifted to 

catch the vision of the future, — forever reaching out to 
those ideals of righteousness for the fulfillment of which 
he has so nobly striven? 

Annie Rosetta Stephens, 

Mount Lebanon, N. Y. 



Lines written for the last birthday of Elder Daniel 
OfFord, his sixty-seventh, little dreaming it would be hie 
last, and listened to by him with wet eyes: 

A word or two for the brother 

Whose days are filled to the brim, 
With work and thought, and thought and werk, 

For others and not for him. 

A word or two for the brother 

Whose aim is always the right, — 
Not always reached, but every step 

Leads farther into the light. 

A word or two for the brother 

So swift in these busy days, 
With never a pause, though oft we fear 

'Mid more of blame than praise. 

May his be a year, of blessing, — 

A year of the "Heavenly Peace," — 
A blessing which broadens and brightens, 

A peace that will ever increase! 

When birthdays no longer arc numbered. 
And the richer life is begun, 



Faithful and True. 



May he hear from the Elder Brother, 
"Faithful and true, well done!" 

—-Grace Ada Brown, 

Mount Lebanon. 

Beloved Eldress Sarah and Gospel Friends, All : 

Learning of your very sad bereavement, we hasten to 
express to you our sincere sympathy, in this great sor- 
row. This trial, following so soon after the death of 
loved Eldress Anna, adds pathos to the experience you 
are passing through, and touches a very tender chord in 
our heart's deepest affection. In these severe afflictions, 
which so often come to God's people, we turn in prayer 
to that Divine Guidance, in which we have unfailing con- 
fidence, asking that our Heavenly Father minister com- 
fort and consolation in this sad hour. The noble exam- 
ple of devotion, in the life of Elder Daniel, to a cause 
which he claimed to be the highest and best, has won our 
deepest respect, and to the loyalty of such a life we are 
glad to give recognition. 
Words fail us. But be assured that: 

"Underneath all the trials that bear you along 
Are the arms Everlasting, so tender and strong, 
Then be humble, be patient, be willing and true, 
For God in His mercy hath watch over you/' 

This blessed assurance has been our solace when we 
drank deeply of the cup of sorrow, and we pass it on to 
comfort your hearts. May God bless and sustain you; 
may His Holy Spirit inspire and strengthen you for the 
duties of the great unrevealed future, is the prayer of 
Your Canterbury Brethren and Sisters. 

My schoolmate when a boy and whom I have known 



i68 



Eldek Daniel Offord. 



for the past fifty-five years, and in all this time often 
meeting him, for we were life-friends, of one church, 
and one faith and one baptism, as true and loyal brothers 
devoted to our cause in doing good for good's sake only, 
our motto to absorb indelibly in our character, pure virtue 
alone, in the name of our God, our Saviour and humanity. 
In all this time of meeting each other often, we have had 
many discussions on the varied subjects of life and its 
use, never have we departed from that true spirit of 
brotherhood so far as to let one unkind word pass be- 
tween us, or even to harbor an unkind feeling toward 
each other. Though differing in argument, at times, on 
different subjects, at the end ofj such scenes, we would 
simply as loving and devoted brothers, agree to disagree, 
until we should meet again. In looking over the fifty-five 
years of unbroken friendship, I ask you to excuse the fall- 
ing tear upon the unsullied sheet. 

Your devoted brother, 

Djl J. R. Slingerland. 

I am greatly shocked by the news of the departure of 
Elder Daniel. The first time I ever met him, I was most 
favorably impressed with his character. I found in him 
a perfectly gentle, frank, sincere, honest, and the most 
profoundly religious man I ever saw. Since then I have 
been in his company many times, and never had any oc- 
casion to change my judgment. Indeed, I was more and 
more confirmed. In the long drives I frequently took 
with him, from time to time, he would unbosom himself 
to me. In him I found a rich spiritual mind. In his 
doings, I found a man of ready sacrifices. He appeared 
to think for the welfare of others and but little for 
himself. 

Your family, Shakerism, the whole world, has lost a 
very high, refined type of man. While thoroughly a 
Shaker in faith and life, his great heart went out to 



An Exalted Type of Christianity. i6p 



all mankind, Elder Daniel OfTord was an exalted type of 
Christianity. 

Yours sincerely, 

J. P. MacLean, 

Franklin, Ohio. 

Some one sent us the sad news of Elder Daniel's pass- 
ing on. It was with great sorrow, that Mr. Sftead and 
myself read it. So soon after losing the dear Eldress, 
the blow was indeed hard to bear ! I remember his kind- 
ness the morning we started from Mount Lebanon and 
his parting words, "Peace be with thee!" I can see his 
benevolent face now and remember his great activity and 
his wonderful executive ability. The call came quickly 
and he was ready. No laggard in the Lord's vineyard 
was Elder Daniel, but whatsoever his hands found to 
do, he did it, and his concise and descriptive way of in- 
terpreting the Lord's word was remarkable. 

I never thought of Elder Daniel leaving his work and 
place in the world, among you, for many a long year, 
but a wiser than we has decreed otherwise. He was a 
remarkable man, and his place will never be rilled. 

To your whole community, to each one individually, 
extend our deepest sympathy in the loss you have sus- 
tained, in the death of dear d£lder Daniel, he of the 
kind heart and helpful life, and his example should live 
forever among you. Two dear faces we shall miss, for 
genuine kindness and love for all, as both Eldress Anna 
and Brother Daniel had, are hard to find in this age. 
With love and sympathy, as ever your true friend, 

M. Louise Stead, 

Brooklyn, N. Y. 

The hope that you will allow me to tender a few words 
of sympathy on the passing of your dear brother and 
Elder, Daniel, prompts me to enter your house of mourns 



170 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



ing to join you in appreciation of his worth and sorrow 
that he has gone from his earthly tabernacle. 

We were of those who were privileged to meet the Elder 
on several occasions and always to have a deeper im- 
pression made in the ready medium of our hearts and in- 
telligence by his genial, wholesome, manly attitude to all 
the influences that bear on the lives and activities of 
man and womankind. Whilst experience teaches us all 
that no human creature cannot be dispensed with, there 
are times when we feel absolutely at a loss to know how 
to commit to other hands tasks, duties and responsibili- 
ties that have been cheerfully, efficiently discharged and 
bravely borne. 

Elder Daniel was the living example of pure unselfish- 
ness. He was tirelessly active to promote the comfort, 
happiness and spiritual and bodily well-being of all he 
came in contact with. He was the ideal burden-bearer, 
because his share and more was always sustained by a 
nature full of the real sunshine of heaven and a heart 
that ever echoed the unsullied melodies of paradise. 

He has gone to his larger work, to his full fruition, 
and his works shall follow him. Into their kindred 
elements his body is resolved, but he lives on forever 
refuting the mistaken assertion that "the evil that men 
do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their 
bones." Thank God, it is the good that is deathless. We 
offer our love to you and pray God's blessing for you. 
Your loving friend, 

Walter Grafton, 

New York City 

To me it seems like a dream, all I have learned to 
know about the family's losses, the past few weeks. Dear 
Eldress Anna! I cannot mention her name without a 
feeling which is at once soothing and saddening. I can 
see her the way I have so often seen her, at the table, 



Self-Forgetful Kindness and Devotion. 171 

smiling to us, her comforting, motherly smile, which was 
more than the brightening tip of her very characterful 
face. In the meeting-room, radiant with faith and en- 
couragement to us all. In her work-room, where the 
last drop of her temporal energy she converted into 
something useful. Then, in her room, in that quiet room, 
where so many words — beautiful, meaningful, soulful 
words — were spoken to me. In that room, where so many 
times, hot tears of strange feeling burned my eyes ! But, 
no! I kept them back in my heart. No wonder they 
were running freely when I heard of her departure. How 
much I would have liked to be there when the last tribute 
was brought to her earthly image, by so many who loved 
and honored her. I am sure Eldress Anna is there, where 
all her actions and noble thoughts have led her. 

And Elder Daniel, that tireless, incomprehensible man, 
for whom, so many times, my heart felt sad. There is 
not one inch of soil around the North Family dwellings 
that has not been touched by his busy, light-stepping feet. 
When I think of Mount Lebanon, Elder Daniel and 
Eldress Anna are there. My mind cannot dismiss them, 
cannot take them away from the family to which they 
were given, heart and soul. Please convey my love to 
every one in the family. Always your sincere brother, 

Peter Neagoe, 

New York City. 

"I cannot imagine," writes a friend of many years, 
"life at Mount Lebanon without the beloved and inspir- 
ing presence of Eldress Anna in the upper room, or with- 
out the self-forgetful kindness and devotion of Elder 
Daniel seen and felt everywhere. Whenever I think of 
him I remember some new direction where his skill and 
labor seemed indispensable. How pathetically tired he 
often seemed and looked. As I remember it, the words 
of the poet come to me, 'There remaineth a rest for the 



172 



Elder Daniel Offord. 



people of God.' His death was tragic in its suddenness 
and loneliness. Yet, I can think of him as saying, 'It was 
just as I would have had it V " 

Another, a neighbor and close friend, writes: "Dear 
Elder Daniel was so sweet and so helpful and devoted. 
I am so glad that he went into a fuller sense of reality 
andj Life through so straight a door, that there was no 
groping in seeming darkness for him. To go straight 
on his way out of a sense of health is, I think, a better 
demonstration. God is All and there is no lack of any 
kind where the full consciousness of Him is." 

"The clear impress of Elder Daniel's face," says an- 
other, "from which shone the beautiful light of truth and 
purity is vivid upon my inner vision and will always re- 
main an inspiration, as will also his kindly words of 
welcome and farewell." 

And so another spiritual cedar has fallen upon Mount 
Lebanon — another brave, sturdy hero has laid his mortal 
armor down — another great moral worker, battling for 
truth in the army of Believers, has laid aside his fleshly 
vestures and, unexpectedly to us, put on the garments 
of immortality. 

The unexpected knowledge of his sudden departure 
startled— shocked me. And in the silence of sadness, I 
said: Is it possible that Elder Daniel has gone out of 
the material and up into that higher realm where the cold, 
shivering touch of death is unknown—gone to greet 
Elder Frederick, Sister Martha, Eldress Anna and other 
Saints, to joyously mingle with them in that perpetual 
Zion of progress and beatific blessedness that awaits all 
true and faithful souls? Ours the irreparable loss, but 
his and theirs the gain. 

Thin is the veil that hides the faces of those dear ones 
from our earthly vision. And yet, there are rifts in the 
clouds and the brilliant stars above the clouds are ever 



His Soul Was Alive With Inspection. 173 

shining. Death, to the really good, is only one step 
up higher, and though grim in appearance it is the angel 
of deliverance. True, our tears fall because we are mor- 
tal; and yet, on their crystal surfaces are shadowed the 
symbols of a glorious immortality. 

It must be nearly thirty years ago since Elder Freder- 
ick introduced me to Brother Daniel; and all the years 
since, when I have visited my Shaker home at Mount 
Lebanon, no warmer hand clasped mine and no kinder 
voice than his breathed to me their greetings. 

He is not dead, but has just passed behind the veil 
where in God's own good time, he, with other brothers 
and sisters, will await your and my coming. Let us con- 
tinue then "To run the race" of purity and peace, with 
the principle of all things in common, never forgetting 
the good deeds and the many sacrifices of those earlier 
souls who lived and walked among us in the regenera- 
tion — a real present-day resurrection. 

Elder Daniel, so far as I was privileged to know him, 
was not only the soul of energy and industry, but of 
moral integrity: though not possessing infallibility, his 
soul was alive with inspiration — his intellectuality was 
never dull nor his hands idle. Investigation and spiritual 
unfolding convinced him of the grand reality of a con- 
scious intercourse between the worlds visible and invisi- 
ble, causing faith to bloom out into fruition and hope to 
kindle , into such spiritual fires of devotion as warmed 
the pentecostal hearts of those fathers and mothers who 
for years graced the different families of Mount Lebanon. 

I get just now but one inspiration, and it comes almost 
with the potency of a voice. It is this: "Continue — con- 
tinue, ye who abide in the flesh, unto the end. Shepherds 
and shepherdesses from above will watch over the flock, 
shower upon them numberless benedictions of love and 
lead them, one by one, up to that city immortal whose 
builder and maker is God. Fear not— trust— <ibide in 



174 Elder Daniel Ofpord. 

the vine and await the coming of those angels who 
beckon heavenward and will bear you and us up to that 
many-mansioned home that makes radiant the heaven of 
heavens." 

Deeply do I sympathize with the family in this hour 
of bereavement. God knows best, and through ways 
unknown to us, He does all things wisely and well. 

J. M. Peebles, M. D., 
Los Angeles, California. 

THE STRUGGLE. 

By Cecelia DeVere. 

We kneel upon the threshold of our grief, 
And then arise, but do not look within, — 

We ask not now for balm, or sweet relief, 
We strive for strength to life anew begin. 

We ask for fortitude, the thoughts to meet, 

That come like winter clouds to spread our sky; 

We brace for courage that will not retreat, 
Whate'er realities before us lie. 

We lift the conquering banner of the cross, 
And light the altar lamps with hope's new name, 

We do not probe our sorrow or our loss, 
Resolved to bear, we make on God our claim. 

And if we weep, like pilgrims on the strand, 
For him beloved, who crossed; the mystic tide, 

Have we not still a faith sublime and grand, 
A knowledge of the power that will abide? 

Have we not love for dear ones gone from sight, 
Yet near, so near we touch with wordless prayer? 



A Tower of Strength, A Bulwark of Defence. 175 

Wc do not dread the darkest realm of night. 
We know God's blessing and the stars are there. 

For him who was our star across the years, 
Whose deeds like jewels on our pathway shone, 

We give the gentle tribute of our tears, 
And in soul kinship hold him still our own. 

Mount Lebanon. 

Ill 

THE TWO WITNESSES. 

By Eldress Sarah Burger. < 

GOD has always had His Witnesses, those who 
dared to do right for the sake of right — men 
and women of conviction. Moses, who led the 
people through the Red Sea; Daniel, who defied 
the king's command to bow to other gods; Deborah, who 
led the armies of Israel to victory. Listen to her song: 

"The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in 
Israel, 

Until that I, Deborah, arose, 
That I arose, a Mother in Israel !" 

Does not history repeat itself? Know we not those 
in our time who are working for principles of right? 
While few compared with the multitude, they stand as 
a tower of strength, a bulwark of defence for the nation. 
Look through the political history of America, trace the 
men of action, of principle, who have stood and cour- 
ageously summoned all their forces to carry on the right, 
until the right prevailed. Their names are written on 
the walls of time, that all may read and learn of victory 



176 



The Two Witnesses. 



through suffering. And the women? They, too, have 
advanced. As the spirit of revelation has opened their 
eyes, many Deborahs have arisen, to lead from bondage 
to freedom. While the battle is far from being won, 
with courage and fortitude they are leading on the op- 
pressed to where the victory will be greatest, where the 
enemy will be met in his own vineyard, planting but rfot 
reaping. 

While, in the natural order, the nation has had its 
leaders, the Shaker Church also has had noble men and 
women, who have stood as witnesses for truth. Ann 
Lee, the Founder, stood for the rights of women, raising 
her voice in clarion tones against the oppression of man- 
made laws, — the first fearless emancipator for her sisters, 
suffering the penalty of her sacrifice and heroism. Many 
have there been in the Shaker societies to stand by these 
principles, women and men who have stood for justice, 
purity, peace and love. Over a century of communism, 
and we can look through the years and see the beacon, 
started on the hillside, grown into a searchlight, sweep- 
ing the valleys and mountains with its glow, revealing 
yet greater works to be accomplished. Jesus said, "Verily, 
verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me, the works 
that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these 
shall he do, because I go unto My Father." We live in 
the faith that all who believe, who live the Christ-life 
and do the works of their day, shall give forth a greater 
manifestation of the Christ Spirit, ever growing in the 
heart of the true Shaker. 

The lives of the Two Witnesses described in the fore- 
going pages have been aglow with the spirit of truth and 
righteousness, and many can bear testimony to the sin- 
cerity of their ministrations. Eldress Anna White, a 
Mother in Israel, treading the paths of progress, break- 
ing down all obstacles in the path to freedom and lead- 
ing on to victory, did her work with a courage that knew 



They Worked for the Eternal Present. 177 

no failure. Elder Daniel Offord, like Daniel of old, 
feared not lions' den nor fiery furnace, but on, on with 
steadfast purpose, to gain the goal. Yea, these two noble 
workers, who will stand before us as monuments of 
eternal life, were true to principle. Every thought was 
forged on the anvil of truth. Their lives bore the im- 
press of the spirit of Love. Not for a future were they 
working, but for the eternal present. If to-day bear 
manifestations of growth, will not to-morrow bring fruit- 
age meet for the Master's approval? 

The Psalmist said: "The lines are fallen unto me in 
pleasant places yea, I have a goodly heritage." From 
childhood to youth, from youth to maturity, we pass 
and repass through many experiences, pleasant and 
painful, and, as we open the book of memory, we read 
many lessons learned under the guidance of maturer 
minds, those who have gained wisdom by sacrifice and 
perseverance. From a child, I have known Eldress Anna 
White, and for fifteen years have been closely associated 
with her. I could stand in the valley and look up to 
the heights where she stood, where the sun of eternal 
life was shining in full glory. What a life, what a charac- 
ter was hers ! It was hers to settle the momentous issues 
of the day and not to call a question settled until it was 
settled right. How often have I seen her pour out her 
heart in prayer to God for guidance, until, feeling the 
inspiration of the Divine, she gave her whole soul to 
the work before her! 

She often made the remark, "I love to live!" and she 
did love to live and she enjoyed, simply and heartily, all 
sides of life, in nature, home and friendship. *4.nd she 
will still manifest that life which quickens into immor- 
tality, for hers was the joy of the Real Life and of 
that she ministered at the altar. Having partaken of the 
gifts of the altar, she knew how to meet and minister to 
souls. It was always a pleasure to her to throw out the 



I7S 



The Two Witnesses. 



life-line, and never a soul came to her for aid and sym- 
pathy but received it without measure. It mattered not 
where lay their path in life, every hungry soul that came 
to her was fed. 

A remark we have often heard her make, "There are 
more Shakers in the world to-day than ever before," re- 
vealed her sure reading of the dawn of spiritual truth 
in the understanding of men and women of all creeds and 
classes. Glorying in her faith, she claimed all good, every- 
where, as hers, and her enthusiasm for truth and for 
the spread of the gospel never failed. 

Her mother's struggle to give up, first the husband 
and father to his higher call, which she herself could not 
accept, and then, to give up her) youngest daughter, the 
gifted, promising girl, yet in her teens, was seemingly 
impressed upon her own spirit, not to weaken, but to 
strengthen. She came from no girlish impulse, nor for 
lack of the deepest and tenderest affection for her natural 
kindred, nor did she hesitate to renounce all claim to a 
large private fortune, to obey the call of the Spirit; 
and never, in all the sixty-two years of her life at Mount 
Lebanon, did she fail in cheerful obedience to that call. 
When, at her father's death, she received a large sum 
that he had willed to her, she at once made it over to the 
common fund, and her joy of consecration was reflected 
in the bright smile with which she would sometimes say, 
"I have nothing I can call my own !" Nor was it an empty 
phrase. She had truly sacrificed the wealth of the world, 
in all its forms, for a place in the Kingdom of Heaven, 
and to how many, many souls has she been a door- 
keeper in the House of God! 

No one standing as a leader in the Shaker Church, 
with an eye single to its principles, but is at times over- 
whelmed with sorrow. As was said of Jesus, our first 
Elder Brother, it may be said of many another, a man, a 
woman "of sorrows and acquainted with grief/' It was 



God in Humanity, A Working Force. 179 

hers to know the truth, it was hers to love the truth 
and it was hers to live the truth, not in the shadow, but 
in the sunlight, that quickens to eternal growth. "All 
souls are mine, saith the Lord," and the saying is not 
without meaning to those who dwell on the spiritual 
heights. God in humanity is recognized as a working 
force, and in the darkest soul is needed only the vitaliz- 
ing power of truth and love to bring forth the divine in 
its full stature. This, Eldress Anna ever sought to do, 
she was a power in the home to bring all souls to God. 

A year after her passing, among her writings, I found 
this little verse, written one year after she had been left 
alone, by the passing of Eldress Antoinette. It voiced my 
feeling, showing how the human clings to the human 
touch : 

"One Year. 

"One year ago, one sad, lone year, 

Since last I sat beside thee, Mother dear ! 

Since last I clasped thy strong hands into mine, 

Thus far they've borne me safe o'er seas of time. 

Thy voice no more the welcome word doth give, 

'My child, come home, come home with me to live!' 

When, being gone perhaps from morn till night, 

She'd greet me with these words and look so bright !" 

Eldress Anna so dwelt in the thought of life, that to 
her there was no death, it was but passing from life to 
more life. Interested in all the movements' of the day, 
she would earnestly say, "Not for ourselves must we 
maintain the home, promulgate the truth, but for the 
rising generation." 

Conscious to the last, her mentality bright, doing her 
duty, giving out love and thought and care to all, the 
One Mind shone in her countenance. She planned certain 
improvements and readjustments with careful attention to 



The Two Witnesses. 



details, looking well after the execution of her plans, 
down to a few days before she left us. We see her 
clothed as with the sun of righteousness, still proclaim- 
ing the message of eternal truth to the hearts of men. 

O the joy of that glorious life was won 

Ere the veil was brushed aside, 
For we caught the strains from her soul of love, 

As she sang of the great divide; 
And the music that rolled from the inner sphere 
Was voiced by the friend we held so dear. 

He might well have known Elder Daniel Offord, who 
said, "Prepare thyself in the ante-chamber, that thou 
mayest worthily enter the throne room,'' and again, "He 
who lays up no store of good deeds during the working- 
days of life can never enjoy the eternal Sabbath." Quick 
and alert in duties, spiritual and material, he never lost 
sight of God as a sustaining power, he realized it through 
all the walks of life and ministered it in daily living. 
Written hastily on a slip of paper, we found his words, 
"I well know my inability, that of myself alone, I can 
do nothing. Only the gift of God can renew us." 

On that memorable Friday and Saturday, in Bethany 
and Jerusalem, 1900 years ago, the little band of disci- 
ples mourned the loss of their Elder Brother, who had so 
unexpectedly left them alone. They could not understand 
his words, "It is expedient for you that I go away," 
and "I will send you the Comforter." They were slow 
to realize the import of the dawn of that first Easter 
morning. To-day, mourning the going of our Elder 
Brother, so full of the loving spirit of Christ, who, for 
so many years, has given us the bread and water of 
spiritual life and in every way has provided the comforts, 
conveniences and protection of our home, no more than 
those of old can we understand the meaning of his going 
or see the light behind the cloud. 



"Labor is Worship and Prayer." 181 



From childhood, our brother aimed high, not that he 
always reached his aim, but no face can be continuously 
turned upward, without coming into kinship with the 
eternal stars. Many words might be said of the ever- 
active 1 self-sacrificing kindness of our beloved brother to 
all about him, and not one word be even the exaggera- 
tion of affection, — it could not be. We feel as the poet 
said of the outgoing of Abraham Lincoln, — 

"The Hand that reached out of the darkness 

Has taken the whole; 
Yea, the arm and the head of our people, 
The heart and the soul." 

His monument will be a living one in the hearts of those 
who knew him, a statue carved from this deeds of loving- 
kindness. 

Uniting with the North Family when but thirteen years 
of age, an intelligent, well-brought up boy, keenly sensi- 
tive to all spiritual impressions, noted for zeal and en- 
thusiasm, he was proverbial for always obeying to the 
letter the command, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, 
do it with thy might." Advantages for intellectual cul- 
ture were few in his youthful years, but his natural in- 
telligence, united with a keen desire and persistent energy, 
overcame obstacle after obstacle. Conservative in ad- 
herence to the fundamental principles of the Shaker 
Church, he was always in wide sympathy with all progres- 
sive movements, material, intellectual or spiritual, espe- 
cially in everything which lifted humanity nearer to 
divinity. 

True to the last to his conviction that "Labor is wor- 
ship and prayer," busy in the fulfillment of duty, the 
Angel of the greater life, watching over him, quietly 
took from his hands the implements of earth, laid them 
aside, and bore him from the mortal casement, the ban- 



The Two WrarESSEs. 



Her of Excelsior waving over the past, the future al- 
ready molded from the virtues of his past, to the glori- 
ous triumph just begun. Those who knew him best love 
him most, and we, who knew him for many years, can 
justly say, "A righteous man has gone from our pres- 
ence W A child in the home thus described him : "He 
was a dear Brother. He never looked out for himself, 
but always looked out for others. He himself was the 
greatest, gentlest, sweetest, and the real star of Purity. ,, 
These two witnesses stood together as ministers of 
light and truth, and they will still minister to those who 
will stand at the open portal to receive of the good. 
From the life of both may stand the message written in 
lines penned by Eldress Anna, a short time before her 
ascension,— 

"All radiant with beauty, 

All rife with joys untold, 
Is our home of peace and plenty 

With its blessings manifold. 
And the greatest of these blessings, 

Is the union, pure and true, 
Which kindred souls possessing 

Is given to me and you." 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: May 2006 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



